


I am Lost

by TeamParkGae



Category: Dramarama - Monsta X (Music Video), Fighter - Monsta X (Music Video), Monsta X (Band), 걸어 | All in - Monsta X (Music Video)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Drug wars, Fighting, Gang War, Heavy Angst, Hyunwon has special powers, I know I've already said it but like, Jooheon's a kleptomaniac but its useful, Kihyun swears alot, Violence, War, Will add tags as I go, all in era, but it's not the focus, dystopian au, no ones gonna die, slight soulmate au, well... none of the boys atleast
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-25
Updated: 2019-01-21
Packaged: 2019-05-28 15:28:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 27,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15052244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TeamParkGae/pseuds/TeamParkGae
Summary: ????/??/??1:15Destiny is like a piece of tangled yarn. I am wandering in it’s boundaries.I am lost.





	1. Prologue Part. 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the start of something that I have gone waaaaay too deep into. I will hopefully be updating this regularly. I will also be providing extra stuff such as maps and trailer through my twitter @tr0pical__night so go check that out. (Please be aware this is a NSFW acc so while I rarely post any outright NSFW content it is 18+ and is the responsibility of the individual whether they decide to follow/delve. If you’re under 18 then please only view the links provided. Thank you~)  
> I will be going back through the chapters at times to edit any spelling/grammar mistakes as this (along with my other works, are not beta’d. I will not, however, be changing any story details. 
> 
> DISCLAIMER: while this fic is heavily based off and takes scenes and moments from a lot of MX’s videos (specifically All In, Fighter, Dramarama and The Connect) it is not cannon complaint to those videos do some parts may veer off from how they are in the actual vids!!

????/??/??  
1:15

There seems to be the misconception that one can only have a soul mate in a romantic sense. That there is just one lover out there that is perfectly matched to you in every way. I don’t believe this is true. I never have. Because in every reality I’ve existed, and every one I can imagine, my soul mates came in the form of brothers. They took care of me. They watched over me when I could barely stand and I did the same for them. In every reality I’ve existed, even the ones where they didn’t know me, they still looked for me. 

I don’t know where I am.

 

????/??/??  
1:15

I did all I could to keep them safe. To protect them from more than just the world we can see with our eyes. I tried to save them, I gave everything I had again and again to spare them the pain of loss. At least you can’t miss something you don’t remember. I never chose this. I never wanted it, but the desperation of the people I’ve found myself intrinsically linked with, connected to, has time and time again proved to be my saving grace and my downfall. Every time I try to fix things, I tear them more. I’m drifting further away. I could bare it to begin with but now I can feel the gap, it’s painful. 

I’m not sure I know this place.

 

????/??/??  
1:15

I can feel it. We’re getting closer. I can sense them. Even when I’m here I can tell we’re getting closer. It’s different now. It feels like a goodbye. It’s the last time, I’m sure of it. We will cross, like we’ve done before and, just the same as it was then, I will have no control. Our paths will cross for the last time, I will never feel them again. 

Nothing is familiar here. 

 

????/??/??  
1:15 

Destiny is like a piece of tangled yarn. I am wandering in it’s boundaries.

I am lost.


	2. Prologue Part. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of info on our boys before we get into it...

Government Youth Consensus (District 8) - updated 2017/02/23

 

Name: Son Hyun-woo (손현우)

DoB: 1998/06/18 (18yo)

Place of Residence: District 8 (formerly Uijeongbu - 의정부시)

Next of Kin:  
\- Mother (Deceased 2011/08/16)  
\- Father (Deceased 2013/09/11)  
\- Paternal Grandfather (Currently under palliative care at Namyangju Medical Centre - District 9)  
\- No further information available. 

Militia Affiliations:  
\- No known affiliations. 

Notable Achievements:  
3rd Geup in Kumdo  
Competed in National Track competitions during junior school. 

Criminal Record:  
\- No criminal record

 

Name: Lee Ho-seok (이호석) 

DoB: 1999/03/01 (17yo)

Place of Residence: District 8 (formerly Uijeongbu - 의정부시)

Next of Kin:  
Mother (Deceased 2015/12/24)  
Father (Conscripted 2016/03/02)  
Younger Brother (Missing since 2015/01/24)  
No further information available

Militia Affiliations:  
Suspected member of Resistance Militia

Notable Achievements:  
-2nd Geup in Kumdo

 

Criminal Record:  
\- Warning issued for attempted assault of Military personnel (2016/03/02)

 

Name: Lee Min-hyuk (이민혁)

DoB: 1999/11/03 (17yo)

Place of Residence: District 8 (formerly Uijeongbu - 의정부시)

Next of Kin:  
Mother (Nurse practitioner at Namyangju Medical Centre)  
Father (Conscripted 2016/03/02)  
No further information available 

Militia Affiliations:  
\- No known affiliations

Notable Achievements:  
\- Completed government first aid programme (2014)

Criminal Record:  
\- Warning issued for trespassing (2015/05/14)

 

Name: Yoo Ki-hyun (유기현)

DoB: 1999/11/22 (17yo)

Place of Residence: District 8 (formerly Uijeongbu - 의정부시)

Next of Kin:  
Mother (Deceased 2006/05/08)  
Father (Deceased 2006/05/08)  
No further information available 

Militia Affiliations:  
\- No known affiliations 

Notable Achievements:  
\- Graduated a year ahead of his grade in both Junior and Senior school

Criminal Record:  
Cautioned for verbal abuse of Military Personnel (2016/03/02)

 

Name: Chae Hyung-won (채형원)

DoB: 2000/01/15 (17yo)

Place of Residence: District 8 (formerly Uijeongbu - 의정부시)

Next of Kin:  
\- Mother (Missing since 2010/09/02)  
Father (Known Leader of Militia running Substance-M4155103 in District 8)  
No further information available 

Militia Affiliations:  
\- Father heads drug movement operations and gun trafficking through District 8 and 9 

Notable Achievements:  
Received multiple awards for attendance and grades during junior school  
Home schooled from the age of 10

Criminal Record:  
\- Suspected of multiple counts of trespassing and breaking and entering (nothing proven) 

 

Name: Lee Joo-heon (이주헌)

DoB: 2000/10/06 (16yo)

Place of Residence: District 8 (formerly Uijeongbu - 의정부시)

Next of Kin:  
\- Mother (Missing since 2017/01/10)  
\- Father (Missing since 2017/01/10)  
\- Younger Sister (Missing since 2017/01/10)  
\- No further information available

Militia Affiliations:  
Suspected member of Resistance Militia

Notable Achievements:  
\- No notable achievements

Criminal Record:  
\- Multiple cautions for petty theft (2012-2015)

 

Name: Im Chang-kyun (임창균)

DoB: 2002/01/26 (15yo) 

Place of Residence: District 8 (formerly Uijeongbu - 의정부시)

Next of Kin:  
Mother (Aid worker at Guri Refugee Camp)  
Father (Lead Scientist at Seoul Research Centre)  
No further information available 

Militia Affiliations:  
\- No know affiliations 

Notable Achievements:  
\- Received multiple awards for achievements in the areas of Chemistry and Life Biology  
Fluent in Korean and English and competent in Hebrew and Modern Standard Arabic

Criminal Record:  
\- Cautioned for petty theft (2013/08/31)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who are unsure Kumdo is the sword fighting martial art that Hyunwoo and Wonho are practicing in the Dramarama MV. It is graded from 10th Geup to 1st (1st being the best)


	3. Chapter 1 - Iris Sibirica

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> and so it begins...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Songs for this chapter - District 9 by Stray Kids (Duh) and Roads Untraveled by Linkin Park

All of this mess over a damn flower. The new opium they used to call it. It quickly became more than that. Known officially as Substance-M4155103. The innocent looking mountain plant became the beginning and the end of outright wars. Gangs grew it on mass to distil it down into a valuable hallucinogenic. The government immediately stepping in to stop the trade in its tracks. But one shipment of the blue powder could turn even the smallest of operations into a multimillion-dollar business. Entire towns became war zones, bodies started to fill the streets. After a few years of this, the government began to cordon off areas, colour coding Districts. Green Districts were safe, they had no curfew and a small presence of government soldiers. Yellow Districts were usually on the edge, a buffer zone between Green and Red, A curfew in place and a heavier presence of the military. While fighting rarely happened in Yellow Districts it wasn’t unheard of. Red Districts were dangerous, they were the Districts that were currently being fought over. Anyone who lived in a Red District was advised to evacuate if they could or simply barricade themselves in and pray they were saved. Finally, there were Black Districts. Districts that were completely held by gangs. Most of these were given up on entirely. Marked off on maps. Any civilian within a Black District was a lost cause, collateral damage. Small resistance groups often surfaced but were quickly stamped out. A blue flower started the end. Changed everything. Destroyed everything. 

 

2017/02/23  
DISTRICT 8 (FORMERLY UIJEONGBU 의정부시)  
approx. 20km due north of Seoul 서울특별시  
DISTRICT STATUS: RED 

 

Gunfire had quickly become a part of everyday life within the district and the seven close friends would often find a quiet place to sit up in the hills and count the rounds and returning fire like thunder and lightning. It may have been morbid but the idea that maybe just a few of the cartel’s men had ended up with a fatal number of holes was somewhat satisfying. The sun was starting to set and the sound of rifles was beginning to thin out. Whoever won the firefight they won it by a landslide. Hyunwoo glanced around him at the six other boys. Darkness was creeping in but it no longer scared any of them like it used to. Even 15-year-old Changkyun no longer got scared by such simple things. As if the dark could be threatening once you’ve stared down the barrel of a live weapon or watched a child drop lifeless at the pull of a trigger. God Hyunwoo wished he could just be scared of the dark. 

“Let’s head back before we get caught out on the rocks, ok?” He spoke up, there were plenty of roads that took them down to the town but experience taught them that the road least travelled was the safest and in this case that meant not taking the road at all. A few years ago the others might have put up a fuss, Minhyuk might have made a snide remark about getting grounded. Now? Now they only nodded and brushed off their pants before making their way down the steep shale towards the tree line. It wasn’t that they had given up. No, they had plenty of fight left in them but conserving resources was important and to waste time and energy on a pointless argument was foolish. By the time the seven of them hit the town the sun had almost disappeared entirely, the moon had clawed its way up the vast expanse of the sky to shed light on another restless night. This was the hardest part, saying goodbye. It may seem dramatic but every night was starting to feel more and more like a lottery and less like a respite. So although they never said ‘those words’ anymore they bid each other good night and split up. Jooheon, Hyungwon, Minhyuk, Hoseok and Changkyun all taking routes through claustrophobic alleyways and hopping fences to reach home. Hyunwoo and Kihyun sticking to the main path, living so close to each other at least allowed some crude form of buddy system for the pair. Although it had pretty much evolved into a case of ‘If I die then I’m taking you down with me’. After a few minutes of silent walking Kihyun spoke up. 

“Is ‘Won ok? I saw his throat.” He asked frowning deeply. 

“You saw that too, huh?” The older replied. 

“Yeah, He thinks he’s slick with the dumb fucking scarf but none of us are stupid. We all know what his dad’s like.” Kihyun spat onto the gravel as he spoke. Despite his pretty features, his attitude was hard and sharp and he cussed like a sailor. Hyunwoo sometimes questioned how they got along so well but he himself wasn’t exactly an easy guy to deal with 80% of the time. He sighed deeply, finally reaching Kihyun’s front door. 

“I’ll keep an eye on him. Maybe we should think about- you know- since we’ve been put on Red now too.” He stumbled a little over the end of his sentence. Almost scared at how easy the suggestion came. The younger seemed to consider his words for a few moments before giving a small nod. 

“It could help things if we did. I know Hyuk’s getting sick of it too. We should talk to him about it. I know he said he wasn’t ready but that was fucking months ago. Things have changed.” He said firmly before reaching up and giving his hyung a tight hug and then disappearing into the quiet house. 

The walk home was too quiet and it scared Hyunwoo. No gunfire. That meant they could be anywhere. He had a bad feeling about tonight. There was no point in trying to shake it off, the feeling of impending doom was almost constant these days. In his head, he could hear his mother droning on about ‘hypervigilance as a symptom of PTSD’ it sounded about right. He just wished he could hear something, anything. There was no such thing as a ceasefire. 

 

2017/02/24  
DISTRICT 8 (FORMERLY UIJEONGBU 의정부시)  
approx. 20km due north of Seoul 서울특별시  
DISTRICT STATUS: RED 

 

Morning came quickly and Hyunwoo was more shocked than pleased. He woke up in one piece. He went downstairs to find the house in one piece, the street, Kihyun, Hoseok, Jooheon, Changkyun and Minhyuk were all fine. Hyungwon. Of course. The boy’s lip was split and swollen, bruises spanned his neck in a warped handprint. He made no effort to hide it today. He looked tired. He and Kihyun had been right, now was the right time to talk to him. Later, back on the hill. They’d make a plan and see it through. For now, though, they had other plans. The bridge in town gave a little shelter from the slightly chilled wind. The seven sat for a while and waited for any transports of soldiers to pass through, They would usually take pity on them and give little of their rations. Changkyun’s baby face and Hyungwon’s bruises certainly wouldn’t hurt the cause. A few hours passed with nothing, maybe they’d have to wait until tomorrow. They stood and started gathering their things together before a shout halted them all in their tracks. A tall older man stormed towards them, he had a few henchmen along with him, all wearing the same threatening scowls. 

“Hyungwon, what are you doing with these bastards? I thought I raised you better than this” He spat. Squaring up slightly to the 17-year-old in front of him. 

“I’m spending time with people that actually care about me.” Hyungwon spat back. 

“Care about you?” The man laughed “Who would care about you? Look at you. I should have put you down when you were a child. I never should have allowed a freak of nature to exist, but I guess now I’m paying for it.” He forced himself further into the teen’s personal space. 

“Is that why you killed mom? Because she was like me? or are you just a psychopath?” Hyungwon laughed fearlessly. 

The sound of slap that rang out was enough to have the six young onlookers flinching. Jooheon had to grip lightly at Hoseok’s wrist to keep him in place. He may have been a little shorter than most but he made up for it in buckets with his strength and sheer muscle mass. The force of the slap didn’t seem to faze the teenager all that much, his head had been forced to one side but his eyes barely registered it. The older man took a few moments to glance over the others, sneering at them. Daring them to do something to stop him. He laughed a little when none of them moved an inch and stalked back the way he’d came, jumping onto the back of a jeep and disappearing out of sight. 

“We’re doing it.” Hyungwon breathed out. Minhyuk frowned. 

“Doing what?” 

“The plan, the fire. We’re doing it. I can’t stand this anymore. He thinks he’s untouchable because he’s calling all the shots around here. Let’s see if he can still laugh with a lungful of smoke.” The tall boy spat the out viciously. The others nodded in solemn agreement. It was time to start making preparations. 

 

2017/02/28  
DISTRICT 8 (FORMERLY UIJEONGBU 의정부시)  
approx. 20km due north of Seoul 서울특별시  
DISTRICT STATUS: RED 

 

The gun had, surprisingly, been the easiest part of the puzzle. Over the years Jooheon’s penchant for ‘adopting’ objects that didn’t belong to him and had developed into a skill and then from there into a commodity. One that was frequently used. They had their hit set up, now it was just a waiting game. Gas wasn’t easy to come by and setting a house on fire without an accelerant was not as easy as it sounded. The shop was only a front. A way to dupe the passing soldiers into thinking the powder and guns were being run through somewhere else. The old man that owned the place would be easily swayed. They felt bad but he wasn’t a local, he wasn’t someone they knew and despite his age and apparent frailness they knew he had taken his place within the operation willingly. Hyungwon had seen as much when he first showed up. 

Hyungwon saw a lot from his father’s side. Regardless of how much cruelty he showed his son the older man always kept him close by. Whether it was to gloat his power or threaten the boy with, it didn’t matter. It was useful. Finding food, medical supplies and now weapons were much easier if you knew which road the trucks were taking, how many armed guards there were and what time they were coming. When Hyunwoo’s grandfather first fell sick two years ago the boys staged a full enactment of Robin Hood to get him antibiotics. Jooheon and Changkyun had climbed up the trees that overhung the road and crouched in waiting for Minhyuk to “pass out” at the edge of the road. Kihyun played the overdramatic older brother to distract the four armed guards and driver. Hyungwon and Hyunwoo hid on the banks in the tall grass and bracken and kept look out for the youngest pair while they jumped down on to the roof of the truck and clambered inside in search of the medicine. Miraculously it went off without a hitch, their timings working perfectly. After that, highjacking the transports quickly became second nature. Take enough to get by but not enough to get caught. That was the rule. 

They waited a few days for the fuss to die down over the missing weapon. It wasn’t unusual for a gun or some ammo to go walkabout but it was better to be safe than sorry. Jooheon met the oldest in an alley a few streets down from the store to go over the plan one last time. 

“Ok, so we go in through the front. We hold the guy up, get the gas and get out the back before the guards show up. We’ll halve it between Kihyun and Hoseok and then split and meet up on the hill in an hour.” Hyunwoo spoke carefully as they huddled together in the tight space. A sharp gust of air rushed past them, kicking up dust and small debris. The boys both flinched hard and snapped their heads to look down the alleyway. Hyungwon stood sheepishly in front of them. 

“Sorry to scare you but you forget these.” He mumbled out handing the pair a white ski mask each. Jooheon grinned at the taller and took the items while speaking. 

“You’re getting good at that, Hyung.” He grinned even harder at the little blush that dusted Hyungwon’s cheeks at the compliment. 

“Yeah, I’ve been practising a lot now we’re going through with it. If I concentrate I can really pinpoint where I wanna go. Although, for a second there, I did think I was gonna end up on the roof next door” He huffed out a laugh, rubbing the back of his neck. 

“Good job Hyungwon-ah also thank you for these. I knew we were bound to forget something.” The eldest smiled kindly ruffling his dongsaeng's hair. “Now we gotta get going. Meet us on the hill ok?” He spoke a little firmer now, steeling himself. The younger nodded and disappeared again, taking some of the air and dust with him. How or why Hyungwon could snap from one place to another in an instant was beyond all of them but the skill had proved more than useful on a number of occasions. When he was younger he had no control over it, any form of fear would have him appearing out of nowhere and falling into his mother’s arms. His father couldn’t stand it, the man had countless arguments with her about encouraging the behaviour. It was ungodly. Hyungwon’s mother tried to protect the tiny boy from his father’s rage but when he was 10 the man snapped. No one really knew what happened to the angelic woman. One day she was there and the next she was not. In the seven years after that Hyungwon learnt to control it and then, in secret, to hone his skill. Now he tried to use it to help his friends where he could but keeping it from his father was becoming increasingly difficult. 

Hyunwoo pulled the mask down snug over his face and waited for Jooheon to do the same before making his way out into the dusk, gun held tightly in his grasp. They had no intention of firing on anyone but trying to fake it would never work. The pair pushed their way into the store, immediately raising their weapons. 

“Don’t fucking move!” The younger growled out “Keep your hands where I can see them.” He threatened the old man. Hyunwoo kept his weapon raised and made his way around to the counter to find the canisters of gas they knew were stashed away. 

“Just take whatever you want. I’m not gonna fight you. The guards will be here any second and you can have it out with them” The shopkeeper spat at the pair, completely unfazed by the whole situation. Once both of the canisters were out Hyunwoo nodded to the younger who quickly followed him out through the back. Once the door was firmly shut they ran the few meters to where Hoseok and Kihyun were waiting. In the background, they could hear Minhyuk shouting a few streets over in an attempt to draw the guards away. They didn’t dwell on it, only praying he didn’t get caught either. The canisters were passed on as fast as possible and the four boys split off in different directions. The rear door of the shop flew off its hinges as guards pilled out into the back alley. The boys were already gone. 

Kihyun held the can tightly to his chest as he clambered up the steep crags in front of him. He’d decided to take the shortest path to the meeting place but it left him struggling up the almost vertical outcroppings. The next half an hour became a case of putting one foot in front of the other and sticking close to the gnarled roots and overhanging bushes to shelter him in the fading daylight. Hoseok heaved gulps of air through his lungs. The dust path up to the foothills had, thankfully, been clear but he could hear the men following him, just out of sight. If he stopped now they’d catch him and beat him to within an inch of his life to find his accomplices. Or they’d simply cut their losses and put a bullet in his head. The thick forest laid just ahead of him, light almost completely cut off below the thick eaves. He jumped the bank, diving into the ditch that ran parallel to the town for a few miles. Following along its slippery path he questioned whether the guards could get a clear shot on him from here. Water jumped up out of the clay-filled puddles and soaked into his socks and trouser legs. The mud trying to pull the tightly fastened boots from his feet. A few more minutes and he’d climb the other edge and make his way through the trees up the side of the hill. The noise behind him had faded out, he hadn’t lost them but he was nearly in the clear. He just had to keep going. Jooheon’s hands shook violently as he jammed the gun down into his bag and hopped the fence in front of him. Clearing a few abandoned gardens he hooked a sharp right and darted across the main street. Twisting his body nearly sideways he pushed himself between two empty shops and out into another filthy alley. The bridge came into view before he could register how far he’d run. Changkyun was waiting for him just around the corner. The pair dived into an empty house and the youngest quickly threw his Hyung a change of clothes. Jooheon didn’t hesitate for second in pulling off his shirt and pants and tugging on the new outfit. 

“I’m assuming nothing went wrong since you’re not dead or bleeding.” He smiled lopsidedly at the older, leaning against the wall behind him. Jooheon simply grunted in reply and carried on trying to fight the trouser legs over his dirty boots. Before long they were ready to head out again. Changkyun went first and checked for any patrols before nodding to the older and making his way down the edge of the street towards the foothills. The pair walked in silence for most of the way through the town, too tired to come up with anything useful to say. Once they hit the tree line they picked up their pace and started to run again. Minhyuk waited for Hyunwoo to appear, breath caught somewhere between his lungs and his throat. Concentration flicking from the ant trying to drag some piece of leaf across the gravel and the distant sounds of guards yelling. Every fibre of his being was thrumming with fear and anxiety. He subconsciously registered that the feeling wasn’t entirely organic. At least if he could feel their fear it meant they weren’t dead yet. Yet. Boots crunching on gravel snapped him back to himself. His breathing stopped completely as the body rushed towards his own. He was tempted to close his eyes, what if it wasn’t Hyunwoo? He crouched down low and waited, lip caught between his teeth. A mass of tanned skin came pilling around the corner, almost taking him out, it stumbled to a stop gasping for air before grabbing his arm tightly and dragging him to his feet. Hyunwoo pulled the younger with him as he carried on running full pelt. Were they being followed? Minhyuk tried to get the words out but the fear rolling off the older told him it was better to keep his mouth shut and just run. The pair ran the full length of the town before turning back on themselves in a wide arc and making for the hills. They didn’t break their stride until they were safely under the cover of the trees. Leaning against the hard wood they desperately tried to steal some air back into their tired bodies. The sun was almost out of sight now but it still gave them enough light to manoeuvre the rest of the way. Hyungwon sat on the cold rock and shivered. He felt as though he’d run three marathons despite being almost motionless for the last half an hour. Waiting was the worst part. He knew they’d never let him be directly involved in the plan. It was just too dangerous. Thanks to his height and lankiness he wasn’t difficult to recognise. If he got caught there was no doubt his father would kill him on the spot. His hands twitched a little as a pain shot through his palm. He frowned and glanced at the offending extremity. The skin remained unbroken despite feeling as though it had been sliced by something. His brain dumbly registered the feeling as Kihyun. Had he fallen? Was he about to be caught? The thought made him feel sick to his stomach. Staying on the rock became almost impossible. Kihyun was getting closer. He could go and find him, help him. He had to stay put though, Hyunwoo had told him not to move. He wasn’t going to second-guess their leader. No matter how badly he wanted to right now. He watched the sun drop lower and lower and tried to measure how long he’d been waiting. Surely they should be here by now. He closed his eyes tightly and tried to feel out for any of his friends. He felt a lick of heat roll up the right side of his body, like standing near an open fire. Hoseok was close, really close. He opened his eyes in time to watch his Hyung stumble out of the tree line. His face was drenched in sweat and his chest shuddered with the effort it took to pull in air. Hyungwon leapt up and rushed to his side. He took the canister out of his hands and set it on the floor before wrapping the older in a tight hug. His hands met behind the blonde’s head as he pulled him down to his neck. Hoseok returned the gesture, arms wrapping around his waist and squeezing tightly in pure relief. 

“Are the others here?” He mumbled into the taller’s neck. Hyungwon simply shook his head in response concentrating on levelling out his breathing. As if on cue he heard a gasp of relief from behind him. 

“Oh, thank god” Minhyuk heaved between deep gulps of air. He and Hyunwoo quickly slid to the dry ground. Three down. Three to go. Hoseok and Hyungwon joined the pair on the floor after stashing the gasoline in some of the brambles that lined the tiny clearing. The four of them huddled together. The sun had now left and taken the last of its heat with it. Hyungwon shivered weakly and immediately felt himself shrouded in warmth as the three elder boys shuffled in closer and draped their arms around and over him. He closed his eyes again and made an attempt to search out the others but before he could Changkyun and Jooheon near enough threw themselves onto the pile. Sighing out happily as they crushed the boys bellow them. 

“Running- less fun- than I- remember” Changkyun wheezed out while chuckling. Hyunwoo rolled his eyes and ruffled the kid’s hair. 

“I’m glad you guys are ok.” He smiled. “Heon, where’s the gun?” he addressed the second youngest. 

“In the bottom of my bag, do we keep ‘em, stash ‘em or throw ‘em?” He asked, not bothering to move his head from Minhyuk’s lap. 

“We’ll make a decision once Kihyun gets here” As per tradition, at the mention of his name, Kihyun pushed through some holly at the edge of the clearing and quickly slipped to the ground hissing with pain. Hoseok and Hyunwoo immediately jumped up to check on him. 

“You ok? What took you so long?” Hoseok fussed.

“I tripped a few times on the rocks. I’m fine, Hyung” He tried to level his breathing. 

“His hand’s cut” Hyungwon offered up, choosing to ignore the filthy look his Hyung sent him for selling him out. 

“Let me see” Hyunwoo spoke in a kind but firm voice, his leader-like instincts taking over and leaving no room for argument. Kihyun complied and showed his bloodied palm. The cut was quite short but whatever had made it had driven deep into the boy's palm. Hyunwoo frowned and tried to remember whether he packed any bandages. After a few seconds of thinking, he simply shrugged and tore a small portion off the bottom of his long shirt. It was by no means sanitary but at least it would stop any more dirt getting in the wound. They sat in silence for a while, soaking up each other’s company before stashing the gas properly and deciding what to do with the guns. 

“We should keep them to hand. What’s the point of having them if we can’t fucking use them” Kihyun reasoned. 

“We shouldn’t have them at all, Why don’t we just get rid of them? We never needed them before” Hoseok ground out. Despite his size, violence had never really been in his character. 

“Hyung, I don’t mean to sound rude but I risked my ass to get my hands on these. We can’t just throw them.” Jooheon spoke up from his seat on Hyungwon’s rock. 

“You’re the one who suggested throwing them in the first place” the older replied. 

“Yeah, I suggested it in the same way you suggest waiting for the ration deliveries instead of stealing from the guards. Everyone knows you’re just saying it to make it sound like morals are a thing we still have.” Jooheon grinned, oblivious to his Hyung’s frustration. Hoseok rolled his eyes and huffed. 

“I suggest it because I still have some form of moral compass you fucking delinquent. Sometimes I think you enjoy this stealing crap too much.” The blonde spat, getting fed up with the younger’s blasé attitude. 

“Alright, both of you just calm down for a second. We’re gonna stash them and that’s the end of it.” Hyunwoo finally spoke up. The six other boys all nodded, whether they liked it or not the oldest was their leader and his word was final. “We’ll find somewhere in the tree line close to town for them so they’re not too far away in an emergency. But I mean a serious emergency. Ok?” The others all gave another nod before gathering themselves up to head back into town. Now the District was Red, curfews had been dropped. Which meant the only people they had to worry about getting caught by were their parents and, for 5 out of 7, of them that wasn’t an issue either. By the time their boots hit the gravel of the town, the moon had made itself comfortable, settling behind the dusting of clouds. It was eerie how even at night it still managed to cast long shadows. The same as every other night they hugged each other solemnly and wound off in different directions. Tonight felt different, the adrenaline had brought on a deep exhaustion. One that had started to bury deep into their bones. One that they’d carry with them from this point forward. Hyunwoo and Kihyun waited for the other’s to fade out of sight before turning on their heels and making the walk home. This time Kihyun didn’t wait to speak. 

“You did the right thing back there. I just felt like you should know.” He spoke plainly. Hyunwoo smiled a little at the younger. 

“Thanks, I’m glad you think so. I was a little worried Hoseok was about to have Jooheon’s head. I know he’s not exactly the violent type but…” The older trailed off. 

“But Jooheon can be a loudmouthed brat and doesn’t know how to take a fucking hint.“ Kihyun finished for him. 

“Have you always been this poetic, Ki? You have such a way with words. It blows me away sometimes.” Hyunwoo laughed at the younger as they paused at his door. 

“I would make a pun about shooting you but you don’t deserve to hear it. Also, you’re a dick and I want a divorce.” Kihyun smirked, stretching up to wrap his arms around Hyunwoo’s neck. They hugged for a little longer than usual this time but they’d be lying if they tried to say that neither of them needed it. Today had been more than a little stressful but it would pay off. The plan would go off without a hitch, just like they always did and things would start to get better. With one last tight squeeze, the boys separated. As always Hyunwoo waited to hear the bolt of the heavy front door slide shut before heading onwards to home. 

 

2017/03/01  
DISTRICT 8 (FORMERLY UIJEONGBU 의정부시)  
approx. 20km due north of Seoul 서울특별시  
DISTRICT STATUS: RED 

 

Hoseok tore his eyes open to the sound of the whistling kettle. He sat up and glanced around the single room in search of the offending noise. Once he found the culprits he frowned. Changkyun was crouched down in front of the stove boiling some water while the other five stood on and watched with varying degrees of amusement as Hoseok gather his bearings and untangled himself from his blanket on the floor. How he’d managed to wriggle so far from his roll mat was beyond him. 

“Is there a reason you’re all breaking into my hovel?” He laughed out, rubbing his eyes and blinking heavily a few times. 

“Can’t you tell from the decorations?” Minhyuk asked sounding slightly offended, moving his arm in a sweeping gesture around the room. Hoseok followed the movement and frowned in confusion. A pair of torn up bin bags had been twisted up and strewn from the doorway to the ceiling fan and back again and there appeared to be a deflated football hanging from a piece of heavy string, or was it a volleyball? He looked back at the group in front of him and frowned, even more, scrunching his nose in confusion. 

“Are these decorations?” He asked hesitantly

“Yes! They are! Sorry, I couldn’t get any balloons but ya know. There’s a war and stuff” Jooheon grinned at him. 

“I call bullshit, I know for a fact Kihyun has boxes of shit like this tucked away. You just forget to dig it all out didn’t you?” The second oldest grinned back. 

“You can’t prove anything” Jooheon murmured in response, narrowing his eyes. The others all laughed. 

“Ok. It’s great, I love it. But can we take it down now, please? I don’t want the neighbours to think I’ve gone castaway on them and it makes the pace look like something out of Fallout: New Vegas.” Hoseok giggled standing and stretching. 

“Hey! You leave Wilson alone!” Changkyun shouted indignantly from his position by the stove. 

“Kyun, If that’s Wilson then why is he hanging from a rope?” Hyungwon smirked testing the younger. Changkyun’s face quickly grew solemn. 

“It’s been a tough year for Wilson” He sighed out before gesturing a cross over his chest. The others fell about laughing at the sudden outburst of method acting and Changkyun soon joined them. Within a few minutes, coffee had been made and the “decorations” had been removed from the walls and thrown outside. They all sat around chattering calmly as the rest of the world woke up to join them. 

“In all seriousness though, we did try and find a cake for you, Hyung, but we couldn’t find anything.” Minhyuk smiled ruefully. 

“ and Hyunwoo-Hyung seemed to think you wouldn’t appreciate the humour in us setting a ration pack on fire when you just woke up” Kihyun chimed in. Hoseok laughed and shook his head. 

“Hyunwoo-hyung would be correct.” He smiled. 

“But still, happy birthday.” Hyunwoo smiled warmly at him and reached forward to wrap him up in a bearhug. The bearhug was quickly returned and soon it became more of a wrestling match then a heartwarming moment. 

“A pack of cigs says Hyunwoo-hyung wins” Changkyun leaned over a murmured to Kihyun. 

“First of all; you must have a fucking hole in your brain if you honest to god think that Mr smiles over there is gonna beat Asian Point Break and second of all; you’re like 6, what are you gonna do with fucking cigarettes?” Kihyun rolled his eyes at the younger levelling him with an almost motherly gaze. 

“I was gonna give them to you, Hyung. In the hope they might brighten your attitude or, failing that, occupy your mouth with something other than talking” The maknae snarked out, grinning playfully. Before he could blink he found himself on the floor along with Hoseok and Hyunwoo. Kihyun had him pinned and was grinning devilishly down at him. 

“Say that again, I fucking dare you” He tested. The younger opened his mouth to rise to the challenge but found himself cut off by a fit of laughter as the older ruthlessly tickled him. 

 

2017/03/10  
DISTRICT 8 (FORMERLY UIJEONGBU 의정부시)  
approx. 20km due north of Seoul 서울특별시  
DISTRICT STATUS: RED 

 

Night had settled in long before the boys made their way out on to the street. Minhyuk carried the gas canisters as Changkyun and Hoseok took his flanks. The trio moved as carefully as they could. There’d been no sign of any government soldiers for days now. Troops that had once flooded the area had now been recalled into Districts 5 and 6. Another few months of this and the District would be Black. Changkyun kept his ears open, ready for the first sign of trouble. They crouched into position and waited for Hyungwon to give the signal. Movement to the right caught their eyes slowly they swivelled around to get a look at what it was. They saw a flash of Hyunwoo’s white shirt. Him, Kihyun and Jooheon had taken their own spots across the street. After a few minutes, there was movement in one of the windows of the townhouse. Hyungwon appeared through the glass and made eye contact with Minhyuk. He nodded firmly before disappearing back out of view. The three boys steeled themselves before rushing forward. Minhyuk threw one of the canisters to Hoseok and started to pour the liquid as close to the bottom of the doors and windows as he could get it. In the dead silence of the night, the sound of splashing liquid was almost deafening. The fumes crawled up into Changkyun’s nose and burned at the back of his throat. He gripped the lighter in his hand a little tighter and closed his eyes for a second. He just needed to breathe. The sounds of movement around him stopped and he snapped his eyes open in time to see his hyungs sprinting towards him and then out on to the street. This was it. All he had to do was light the cigarette and drop it in the gas. It wasn’t hard. Why was it so hard? If he did this he’d be responsible for taking someone’s life. Could he live with that? He didn’t have much of a choice now. The others had offered to take his place but he insisted that he could do it. That he’d be fine. He had to be fine now. He put the cigarette to his lips and lit it breathing in a lungful of the warm smoke. It scraped uncomfortably at the sides of his throat and burnt his tongue a little but it felt good. A little nudge back into reality. He took one last breath a threw the cigarette away before turning on his heel and sprinting for his Hyungs. He could feel the heat behind him start to build. He only prayed Hyungwon would be ok. That the plan would work like it always did. 

Hyungwon moved to his bedroom window and peeked out through the curtain. He could see Minhyuk crouched across the street with Changkyun and Hoseok. The canisters almost glowed in the moonlight. No point in dragging this out any longer. He looked his friend dead in the eyes and nodded before slipping back into the room without a second glance. He sat on his bed and waited. He could hear nothing, everything remained the same. Perfectly still and perfectly normal. A few minutes of nothing dragged by and then he smelt it. Faint but unmistakable. Burning. He waited a few seconds more before getting up and heading out into the hall. A picture of him and his mother grasped tightly in his trembling hand. Looking down the staircase he could see dark shadows dance along the wall, chased by a deep orange glow. The heat was starting to build and smoke was crawling up the walls, leaving dirty marks in its wake. He just stood, and watched, and waited. The door of the master bedroom flew open and his father stumbled out onto the landing. 

“What the hell are you doing stood there? Are you stupid? There’s a fucking fire.” He bellowed. 

“I know” was all the teen replied. His voice cold and steady despite his shaking. Not long now, just a little while longer. He had to be sure there was no way out. 

“Get out of the fucking way!” His father screamed trying to push past him. For the first time, Hyungwon fought back. He shoved as hard as he could at his father's shoulders, sending him stumbling back a few paces. 

“We’re staying here.” Again his voice came out eerily steady. 

“You can stay here if you want, you fucking psycho. I won’t stop you” The old man laughed humourlessly. Hyungwon frowned at this. He wanted to say something snarky back, wanted to ask why, how he could treat his own flesh and blood like this. But instead, he said nothing. The air was thick and heavy with black billowing smoke. It ripped into the teenager’s lungs and prickled at the back of his mouth. The heat was almost unbearable. It clung to everything. Ebbing and flowing between hot and hotter until nothing felt real. His skin felt dry and ashen but he didn’t move. Not yet. He had to be sure. 

“Get out of my way” He father let out a wretched scream and pushed past the boy. He flung himself towards the staircase and barely had time to stop himself as he watched the wood give out and drop away into the inferno growing bellow. The man stared at Hyungwon only now realising why the boy was so calm. He was going to die here and Hyungwon was going to be responsible. The teen glanced over his shoulder and smirked. The darker part of himself was unbelievably satisfied with the horrified expression gracing the older man’s features. He closed his eyes and slowed his breathing, feeling out for his friends. He could sense their thrumming anxiety and focused on it. He was almost there, he could feel it. Heat licked up his arm and left a cold wash in its wake. He couldn’t remember ever feeling a pain like it, trying to fight against the panic and the searing pain he scrunched his eyes and snapped himself off the landing. Dropping to his knees in relief he pulled his arm tight to his chest to shelter the burn. Everything still felt so hot, breathing was still becoming increasingly harder. Opening his eyes he let out a small yelp of panic. The living room that he had grown up in was melting around him. The wallpaper curling off the walls in sheets of red embers, the curtains dripping from their rails like molten lava. The wooden floor warped and moved under him, mirroring the ceiling. Smoke billowed out of the cracks in the wood and everything seemed to sway dangerously. After a few seconds of sheer, body freezing panic Hyungwon knew he had to move. He gathered up his long, singed limbs and forced himself to his feet, bending almost double to try and avoid the worst of the smoke. He made a dash for the front door, the heat-warped wood had come free of its latch and now swung dangerously outwards marking his exit in glowing white and searing heat. Just a few more steps and he’d be free. He had to keep moving. His knees gave out as he crossed the threshold and the ground came rushing up to meet him. Fresh air only seemed to make the burn in his lungs worse as the hacked up black soot. He blinked heavily and tried to regain some form of composure. A pair of hands found his shoulders and a face came in to focus. Kihyun was shaking him violently. 

“-at the fuck happened in there? We thought you were fucking dead” He yelled trying to drag the younger to his feet. “Come on, we have to go” He tried to rush him into standing but the tall boy’s legs wouldn’t hold him. 

“I’ll help him, go and make sure Jooheon and Changkyun get away safe ok?” Hyunwoo pushed in beside the younger. Kihyun simply nodded and got up to find the two youngest. Hoseok ran over to try and help but Hyunwoo simply waved him off. 

“Go with Ki!” He shouted, picking up Hyungwon and wrapping the less burnt arm around his shoulder. Minhyuk ran over to take his other side. 

“You should go wi-“ Hyunwoo couldn’t get the end of his sentence out. His body was forced to the ground. Hyungwon’s and Minhyuk’s quickly followed. Hands dug viciously into their wrists as they felt cuffs wrap tightly into place. 

“You better hope for your sakes no one is still inside that house or you’re gonna be in more trouble than you can possibly imagine.” A pair of army issue boots came into view, kicking gravel into the boy’s eyes as they went. All three squinted up at the harsh features of the man in front of them. None of them knew who he was but the patch on his bicep was instantly recognisable even in the low, dancing light of the blaze behind them. Military Police.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> eek. just eek.


	4. Chapter 2 - Gentiana Verna

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Why would I set my friends house on fire if he was inside?” Minhyuk spat back sarcastically. 
> 
> “That’s what I’m wondering. It doesn’t make much sense.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to formally apologise for this taking so long. Thank you to my friends for being patient and listening to me ramble on about this shit. Especially the ones that don't listen to Kpop but read it anyway like supportive beans.
> 
> Songs for this chapter-  
> Neon Trees - First Things First  
> BTS - The Truth Untold

2017/03/11  
DISTRICT 5 (Bukhansan Detention Centre 북한산시 감옥)  
approx. 17km due north of Seoul 서울특별시  
DISTRICT STATUS: YELLOW

 

The hard metal of the chair dug into his back, keeping him awake despite his exhaustion. The transport hadn’t taken long but when the soldiers tried to separate the three everything had kicked off. The last he saw Hyunwoo had a split lip and Hyungwon had bitten two men who tried to hold him, despite still being caught off guard by fits of coughing. If he concentrated he could feel Hyunwoo in a nearby room pacing back and forth like an animal in a cage. He couldn’t really feel Hyungwon from here. Minhyuk fidgeted again and tried not to enjoy the agitated look on the guard’s face. He was wriggling more on principal than anything else now, having been told to pack it in about 4 hours ago. The door swung open and an official looking man strode into the room. He gave Minhyuk a once over before sitting himself in the chair opposite, leaning heavily on the metal table in front of him and glancing down at the manila file lying open between his arms. 

“You gonna tell me why you set your friend’s house on fire?” He asked firmly. He didn’t seem aggressive or angry, just calm and impassive. “Your friend could have been really hurt, you know?” 

“Why would I set my friends house on fire if he was inside?” Minhyuk spat back sarcastically. 

“That’s what I’m wondering. It doesn’t make much sense.” He looked closer at the file in front of him. “Why don’t we take this back a little? You were cautioned for trespassing in 2015? Why don’t you tell me about that?” He leant back into the seat. Minhyuk simply rolled his eyes. What did they want him to say? He and the others had decided to explore an abandoned power plant and he had distracted the Military police that chased them and got himself caught. Luckily for him the soldier that had caught him took pity on his age and apparent innocence and let him off with minimal questions. 

“Don’t wanna talk about it huh?” The man sighed tiredly rubbing his stubble. He gave the scraggly blonde a more thorough appraisal, staying leant back and far too calm. “You know, you look familiar. Your father was conscripted last year, yes? Maybe I’ve met him. Maybe I can arrange for you to see him if you cooperate.” He tried to bribe the 17 year old. Minhyuk barked out a cruel sounding laugh. 

“Conscripted?” He asked incredulously “He was dragged from his bed at the crack of dawn and thrown into the back of truck with everyone else. That’s hardly what I’d call conscription.” He hissed venomously. 

“But you want to see him don’t you?” The officer asked, unfazed by the outburst. 

“What do you even want me to tell you?” Minhyuk threw up his hands in exasperation. 

“I just want to know why, how and why in gods name you did it when your friend was still inside. Unless he’s not your friend. Was that the plan, Minhyuk? Trap him in and let him burn?” The man tested knowing full well that wasn’t the case. 

“Of course not!” The teenager shouted. “We just wanted to- No, you know what? No. It’s not like you’d understand anyway” He gave up, exhaustion getting the better of his judgement. 

“Try me” was all the man said. 

“No. Fuck you.” Minhyuk spat, crossing his arms and leaning back in defiance. The officer shook his head in disappointment and stood, collecting the file. He tucked the chair back in and left without another word. 

Hyunwoo ignored the guard at the door who repeatedly asked him to sit down and continued to pace. He could sense Minhyuk getting more and more agitated, Hyungwon had fallen off his radar a few hours ago but the boy was scared. Where were they? He couldn’t stand waiting around any longer. He tried to make his way towards the door but the way the guard tightened his grip on the black rifle was enough to have him continuing his back and forth across the opposite wall. He huffed in frustration. He heard Minhyuk shout something from a few rooms away and couldn’t take it anymore. He rushed for the door in front of him and froze with his hand wrapped around the handle. The muzzle of the guard’s rifle was pressed firmly between his shoulder blades. 

“I’ve told you to sit down more than enough times and I’m starting to lose patience with you. You’re gonna move away from the door and take a seat right now. Do you understand?” The soldier threatened. Hyunwoo simply nodded raising his hands a little in surrender and slowly turning to face the guard. The rifle now sat in the centre of his chest. The cold metal making his heart beat uncomfortably hard in his chest. He waited for the guard to step back slightly before he made his way round to the metal chair, letting it scrape noisily on the floor as he dragged it out, and sat down. The man nodded and returned to his position, his finger resting too close to the trigger for Hyunwoo’s liking. It wasn’t long before the door opened an officer stepped into the room. He made his way over to the table in silence and sat down, opening the file in his hands. 

“Son Hyunwoo, I’m looking at your file and I can’t work out what a boy like you is doing here.” Hyunwoo bristled at the word ‘boy’ and narrowed his eyes. 

“That a good question, sir. What am I doing here?” He bit out, still respectful in his words but his tone a mile from it. “I was simply helping my friend who’d been caught in house fire and now I’ve been detained for…. what is it I’m being detained for?” He sat back in his seat, oozing quiet confidence. They had nothing on him. A few more hours and they’d be out of this. 

“I’ll be honest. Minhyuk gave the game up for you guys about 5 minutes ago.” He pulled a small voice recorder out of his pocket and played the younger’s words back to him. 

‘Of course not! We just wanted to- No, You know what? No.’ Well fuck. Maybe they were a bit screwed after all. Hyunwoo closed his eyes and sighed in defeat. 

“So, you gonna tell me what was going through your heads when you tried to burn your friend alive?” The officer leant forward in his seat. What did he say? Did they know Hyungwon’s father was in the house too? Did they care? 

“We were trying to do the right thing and we had no intention of hurting Hyungwon. We just wanted to help” Hyunwoo answered honestly. No point in lying, he just had to dodge a few truths and keep it simple. 

“Help how? How does burning a house down help?” The man questioned. 

“You know who Hyungwon’s dad is right?” The officer simply nodded so Hyunwoo continued “We thought that if we burnt the house it might disrupt things. Hyungwon said that he ran a lot of the operation from there. We thought that maybe destroying the place would give you guys a window to try and stop them.” It wasn’t the whole truth but that was part of the plan. With no head to the operation it would take a few days for things to right themselves and maybe the army could take back some sort of a foothold in the district. 

The officer nodded in understanding. He stayed quiet and considered the younger’s words for a few moments before speaking. 

“What about Hyungwon then?” 

“He wasn’t supposed to be there.” Hyunwoo lied. He could do this. 

“He wasn’t? Then why did he say otherwise?” The officer asked. Hyunwoo paused for a second. Had Hyungwon said that? Surely he would have kept his cool. But then again Minhyuk hadn’t. What had Hyungwon said? The teenager stayed silent. “What’s the matter Hyunwoo? You seem shocked.” 

“I am, I cant understand why Hyungwon would say that” The man in front of him seemed to take this and nodded. He looked down at the file for the first time since he entered the room. 

“What happened to your parents, Hyunwoo?” He cocked his head a little. 

“You tell me. You’re the one holding the file.” Hyunwoo growled. Why was this guy bringing up his parents? The officer laughed bitterly. 

“Unfortunately our records are incomplete.” He admitted. 

“They’re dead.” Was the simple reply. 

“I can see that much. I’m sorry about that by the way. What happened to them?” He seemed genuinely sympathetic. 

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Hyunwoo looked down at the concrete bellow his feet and focused on the boot scuffs marring the surface. 

“I understand, it must be hard to think about. Why don’t we start with your mother?” He lowered his voice a little, as if he was trying not to spook the boy in front of him. 

“Dementia.” Was all he said.  
“Dementia? She can’t have been that old.” The officer frowned. 

“It’s called Frontotemporal Dementia. It can develop in people of any age and it’s terminal.” He listed the facts as if reading them from cue cards. 

“I’m sorry to hear that.” 

“No you’re not. You just want more information for your damn file. You couldn’t give two shits about my mom. About how I had to watch her slowly lose everything that made her her. How she knew exactly what was happening and how it was going to end. How she had to give up her practice, stop helping people, because she could barely write her own name.” The words whooshed from Hyunwoo’s lungs. His eyes stung with unshed tears, his chest quivering with the pain of memories. He hated thinking about her. He missed her so much it hurt. Even after almost six years it still felt raw. 

“Ok, just take a second to breathe. Do you want some water?” He frowned in concern as he watched the boy in front of him. Hyunwoo’s hands gripped the edge of the table so tight his knuckles were almost white. “I’m truly sorry you had to go through that.” He gave the boy a moment to calm himself down. “I think we’re done here.” The man stood, calmly collected the file and tucked in the chair quietly. As he left Hyunwoo called after him. 

“Hyungwon and Minhyuk, are they ok?” He asked, sounding a little desperate. The officer paused int the doorway. 

“They fine. Minhyuk’s cooling off in one of the interview rooms and Hyungwon’s in the infirmary having some oxygen and getting his burns treated before we question him” The man then turned and left. So he lied. Hyungwon hadn’t said anything. Yet. Hyunwoo prayed that wouldn’t change. 

 

Nurses bustled quietly around the bed Hyungwon was lying in. The oxygen mask fitted tightly around his face was a little uncomfortable but he could ignore it in favour of being able to breathe easy. The ointment on his arms was soothing the heat of the burns a little and tiredness was beginning to settle in to the back of his head, dragging his eyes shut. The heart monitor they’d hooked him up to was beeping lowly in the background, it’s metronomic sounds were soothing his nerves a little. He’d stopped being able to sense the others a few hours ago and it was starting to leave an uncomfortable itching feeling under his skin. The taste of iron gathered on the back of his tongue. He could tell how stressed they were getting but he couldn’t feel the familiar warmth he’d grown used to. The feeling of anger welled up in his chest and broke into waves of pure despair. Hyunwoo. Hyunwoo felt so lost, so far from his usual steady calm. What was happening? Hyungwon barely registered the sound of the heart monitor increasing in pace or the nurses who were now trying to talk to him. All he could focus on was the deep burning ache in his chest. It hurt so badly. Hyunwoo was hurting so badly. Hyungwon could only remember one other time he’d felt like this and that was the day the eldest had to say goodbye to his mother. Was that it? The pain dissolved into dull ache ebb and flow against his rib cage, pulsing and restricting his breathing a little. He let himself tune into the voice of the nurse who was now leaning over him with a hand squeezing his shoulder gently. 

“Just breathe sweetheart” She spoke calmly. “Do you know where you are?” She asked gently. Hyungwon nodded dumbly at her, even if it was a little hard to remember with the distracting urge to climb out the bed and go find his Hyungs. The nurse smiled sweetly at him and ran a gently hand through his messy, slightly greasy, hair. She reminded Hyungwon of his mother a little which was as much painful as it was comforting. He let himself relax back into the pillows and tried to ignore the feeling in his chest. He’d tried to make a jump to find the others a few times but every time he did a sharp bolting pain pierced the space behind his eyes leaving him feeling dizzy and sick. Maybe he just needed to rest. Then he could figure a way out of this. Sleep started to seep into his brain, jumbling his thoughts, his body relaxing fully. He killed his own father. Sideswiped by the sudden realisation he lurched forward, tearing the mask from his face and heaving. A bowl was under his head before he registered it and the little food he still had in his stomach made it’s way up and out along with a considerable amount of bile. A hand lightly ran up and down his back, his whole body shook with the effort to keep in the violent heaving. A little voice in his head reminded him that his father was cruel and that he deserved what he got but the bigger part of himself only felt the empty cave of loss that had settled in his chest the day his mother disappeared grow even wider. He blankly realised that he was now an orphan too, like so many of his friends. Although he’d never felt as though he had a father now it was just too real and it was his fault, his doing. The concerned looks on the nurse’s faces went unnoticed as he sat completely stationary in the bed. The hand on his back kept up the soothing pattern as the nurse tried once again to talk to him. He wasn’t listening. The door to the infirmary opened and an officer strode in, his uniform was pristine aside from the top button of his standard issue shirt that had been left hanging open. He looked tired, his eyes were heavy. Whether he was at the end of his shift or just starting it, he looked like he needed a break. The manila file in his hand was packed with lose papers and photos. His harsh expression softened a little when he saw the state of the boy in front of him. He sighed deeply and took at seat next to the bed, silently arranging himself and taking a moment to assess the teenager. Hyungwon lowered his head back to the bowl as another wave of nausea washed over him. The officer sat patiently and waited for Hyungwon to calm down and start to breath more evenly, no longer heaving every few seconds. He opened his mouth to speak a few times before closing it again, seemingly unsure of how to breach the heavy silence.

“Feeling a little better now?” He asked finally. The question seemed a little pointless to Hyungwon considering how he was still hunched over, body quivering. He nodded slightly in affirmation regardless. At least he didn’t feel sick any more. “Probably shock if I had to guess. It can get you in some nasty ways.” The officer continued. Hyungwon remained silent. If his father had taught him anything it was that keeping your mouth shut when under pressure was by far the best bet. “You know, I’m not here to interrogate you, I just want to get to the bottom of what happened.” Still nothing. The officer sighed and started to leaf through the file in his lap. “I’m sorry about your mother” He said without looking up, as if it was simply a throwaway thought. Hyungwon tried to ignore him as best he could. What was it his father always used to say? Focus on a spot. Don’t move your eyes from it, don’t think about anything except your spot. He found a piece of grey fluff clinging to the white bed sheets and narrowed his eyes a little in concentration. “Found your spot have you? Your father teach you that” Out of the corner of his eye Hyungwon could see the officer had refocused his gaze and had his eyebrows raised incredulously at the teenager. Focus on your spot. “You know I’m not going to torture you.” The man laughed. “I really just want to know what happened. You’re not in any trouble, Hyungwon. I know who your father was, the trouble he caused and judging by those bruises he wasn’t kind to you either.” Hyungwon looked up at the officer, forgetting himself for a second, and frowned. He seemed genuinely concerned. Maybe he really did just want to help. “Why don’t you tell me a little bit more about him. We’ve been trying to track him down since the fire but we’re not having any luck, maybe you can help us” He tested the waters. 

“What do you want to know about him” The words came out sounding rough and croaky, Hyungwon hadn’t uttered a word since he last spoke to his father. 

“Well, for a start. Where do you think he’ll head to now he doesn’t have a house?” So they didn’t know he was dead? That was good. Now he just had to make sure he didn’t give the game up and pray that they didn’t look too closely at what was left of the house. 

“I don’t really know.” Hyungwon paused taking the cup of water he was being handed by the nurses, gulping it down he sat himself up a little and crossed his legs. “He didn’t tell me much, just showed off how powerful he was” The officer nodded, considering the 17 year olds words. 

“And how did he do that?” 

“He used to take me with him while he ‘enforced’ his laws on the locals but recently he’d just make a point of showing off his biggest guns or waving money in my face.” 

“Enforce?” 

“Kill.” The boy fought to hold in the shudder at the memories that came flooding back. The blood, the screaming. 

“I’m sorry you had to go through that. You must have been pretty scared of him.” The officer said empathetically. Hyungwon nodded in response. 

“I used to be but now I don’t really register it anymore.” 

“So did he show you any maps when he was showing off? Mention any buildings? Anything?” 

“He used to talk about the warehouse a lot but he hasn’t mentioned it in a while” 

“Warehouse?” He asked leaning forward in his seat a little. 

“Yeah, he used to run most of his guards out of it, like an armoury. No, actually it was more like a barracks. But he doesn’t talk about it much anymore, I dunno whether he stopped using it or stopped caring.” Hyungwon decided that sticking as close to the truth as possible was the best plan of action. 

“Do you know where it is?” The officer leaned forward even further. 

“North, close to the border. That’s all I know.” Hyungwon admitted. The man grinned at him snapping the folder shut. He didn’t seem to care about the fire anymore. At least now they had time to figure a way out of this mess. 

“Thank you for all your help, Hyungwon. You should get some rest. You look like you need it.” And with the he left the teen alone to the sound of beeping machines and the quiet murmuring of the nurses. He leant back and closed his eyes, trying to think of a way to escape. He could figure this out, he just needed time. 

 

2017/03/10  
DISTRICT 8 (FORMERLY UIJEONGBU 의정부시)  
approx. 20km due north of Seoul 서울특별시  
DISTRICT STATUS: RED

 

The fire was so hot Minhyuk could hardly breathe. The flames licked up the outside of the building and flooded the street with orange light. Everything had gone to plan but now he was starting to panic. Hyungwon should have been out by now. They had planned for him to stall his father for a while but now the house was starting to lose structural integrity, something big must have fallen down as it caused the downstairs windows to blow out. Glass and embers rained down and the light became almost blinding for a few seconds before dulling back to the hot orange glow. Minhyuk frowned and glanced at the others. Hyunwoo looked just as concerned, if not more, and Changkyun had a solid grip of Hoseok’s forearm to keep him in place. 

“Where is he?” Kihyun whispered, barely audible over the sound of the roaring flames. 

“What do we do? We should go in.” Jooheon’s panicked voice rose up into the night. He lunged forward. Kihyun wrapped an arm around his chest and pulled him back in to the bushes. 

“No, just wait. If we go in the only thing we’ll do is get ourselves stuck” He tried to sound firm but it was clear he barely believed his own words. Minhyuk squinted at a flash of movement from the living room window. Was that Hyungwon? What the hell was he doing? The front door swung dangerously on it’s hinges and slammed against the outer wall of the porch, making the six boys jump in surprise. A few seconds of still passed and then Hyungwon was pilling out of the front door. He fell to the asphalt, gasping and coughing. His right arm was clutched tightly to his chest, now caught between him and the road. Minhyuk had barely registered it before Kihyun was diving forward. He grabbed at Hyungwon and shook him violently. Minhyuk couldn’t hear what he was saying but he caught the headlamps of a truck coming up towards them. Fuck. They had to get out of here. Almost on instinct he pushed Changkyun and Jooheon away from the road. 

“Get the fuck out of here.” He yelled at them before following Hoseok out on to the road. He saw Hyunwoo wave the second oldest off as Kihyun ran back past him in the direction of the youngest pair. The truck was getting closer, he could hear the tyres crunch over the debris from the fire. Minhyuk met Hyunwoo and they lifted Hyungwon to his feet. He tried to catch what the oldest was saying over the pumping of blood in ears but he didn’t have chance as was forced to the floor. Fuck. 

 

2017/03/11  
DISTRICT 8 (FORMERLY UIJEONGBU 의정부시)  
approx. 20km due north of Seoul 서울특별시  
DISTRICT STATUS: UNDETERMINED

 

The door shook violently on it’s hinges. The lose glass pane rattled dangerously in it’s fixing as an angry hand pummelled the wood next to it. 

“Open the damn door, Hoseok!” The women’s angry voice bellowed from the other side of the closed blind. Changkyun sat bolt upright from his spot in-between Kihyun and Jooheon. The pair of them quickly following his lead. Hoseok rushed to the door and threw it open to greet the lady on the other side. Minhyuk’s mother, a slightly shorter woman with shoulder length black hair tied in a loose bun and deep warm brown eyes, had her hand up ready to knock again and seemed a little caught of guard that the door actually opened. She quickly righted her self and grabbed on to Hoseok’s shirt. “Where in the hell is my son?” She bellowed at the teenager. 

“I- I can explain.” Hoseok stammered out.

“You have thirty seconds to tell me what the hell is going on” She seethed.

“He was- uh- He was arrested last night.” Hoseok confessed. 

“You think I don’t know that?!” She shouted again. “I’ve had soldiers turning my house upside down all damn morning. They’re saying he set Hyungwon’s house on fire. Almost killed him” She started to tear up. 

“Eomma, I’m sorry” Hoseok looked down in shame, what could he say? “We didn’t mean to get caught.” The woman’s eyes narrowed in anger. 

“So you did set the house on fire then? Why is my son in some detention centre and your still out here, huh?” She shook him violently. 

“I’m sorry, Hyungwon wasn’t supposed to be inside that long. We all tried to help him but Hyunwoo told me and Kihyun to take the kids and run. Minhyuk was trying to help ‘Won. I’m so sorry but we can find a way to get him out of this.” Hoseok tried to be as honest as he could. Minhyuk’s mother frowned deeply. 

“What do you mean he wasn’t supposed to be inside that long? Why was he in there in the first place? You waited for his father to leave but not him? It doesn’t make any sen-“ She froze, her eyes filling with dread and shock. “Dear god. You boys killed him didn’t you? His father. You- why? What would posses you to do it?” She had paled considerably.

“He was a fucking psycho. He deserved it.” Kihyun spoke up for the first time. His opinion nor his language swayed by the woman in front of him. 

“Deserved it?” She said incredulously before realisation sparked across her features. “Because he hurt Hyungwon. God I did wonder. I never wanted to jump to any conclusions but- But it doesn’t excuse it. You’ve all killed someone. Oh my god, my sons a murderer.” She paled further and let go of Hoseok in favour of gripping the wall for support. 

“Actually I set the fire so if anyones a murderer it’s me” Changkyun hadn’t looked up from his hands the whole time, he was shaking a little and looked positively ill. The woman’s motherly instincts immediately took over and hers eyes softened. She left the wall and knelt in front of the 15 year old. 

“You’re not a murderer, sweetheart.” She said softly, brushing his fringe out of his eyes and pulling his chin up to make eye contact with her. “I understand. I don’t think I’ll ever be ok with it but I understand.” 

“I’m sorry” Was all the boy whispered out before his bottom lip started to tremble and tears made tracks down his round cheeks. She sighed in resignation and pulled him to her chest, tucking his head in the crook of her neck.

“You’re ok, its ok.” She whispered, stroking his back comfortingly. He pressed himself closer to her and soaked up the warmth of the hug. It was no secret that Changkyun was starved of affection and deeply craved it. His parents weren’t unloving they just weren’t particularly demonstrative. They stayed in silence for a few minutes before Jooheon leant his head on the soft shoulder. She untucked her arm and wrapped him up in the hug too. It didn’t take long for Hoseok to join them and almost reluctantly Kihyun pressed himself along the warm side. He didn’t show any obvious signs that he wanted the contact but she felt his hand grip tightly to the lose fabric of her cardigan. It took her a while to realise that Changkyun was the only one of them that still had a mother and the thought made her heart shatter in her chest. She pulled Hoseok even closer to her and stroked gently through Kihyun’s subtly dyed hair. She needed just needed her boys to be OK. They’d figure this out, they just needed time. 

 

2017/03/11  
DISTRICT 8 (FORMERLY UIJEONGBU 의정부시)  
approx. 20km due north of Seoul 서울특별시  
DISTRICT STATUS: UNDETERMINED

 

When Kihyun opened his eyes it came with the realisation that he’d fallen back asleep, the sun had crawled further into the sky but was still a little low in it’s arc considering the time of year. Movement from under him sent a jolting reminder that he’d fallen asleep against Minhyuk’s Mother. He glanced up and met her eyes. A warm smile graced her features and she ran her hand through his messy hair. The action was soothing and he closed his eyes to enjoy how it spread warmth through his chest before jerking away sharply and righting himself. He didn’t need to be babied. He’d survived just fine up until now. He didn’t need a mother, he didn’t need anyone. She seemed to sense his turmoil and left him to it, knowing that making a fuss would only make things worse. She moved her hand to pet through Hoseok’s hair instead and Kihyun couldn’t help the pang of jealousy he felt watching her affections disappear. Deciding not to dwell on it the 17 year old made his way over to the crude sink and filled the kettle, setting it on the stove. He picked up one of the clean mugs off the side and quietly offered one to Minhyuk’s mother. She nodded gratefully and sat in silence, observing his movements. Kihyun moved across the space quickly and quietly, every so often he would pause halfway through his step and readjust his destination, knowing every creaky floor board like the back of his hand. The whistling of the kettle boiling woke the other three boys who were still snuggled against their adopted mother. 

“The better be enough water for me as well” Hoseok teased, glancing up at the younger.

“Make your self a fucking coffee” Kihyun smirked back. Minhyuk’s mother tutted at the colourful language. 

“Can you go a single sentence without swearing, young man?” She teased. “It’s no wonder you got yourself into so much trouble.” Kihyun simply shrugged in response. He didn’t mean to be rude to her but he didn’t really know how to deal with the motherly tone in her voice or the fond familiarity she always treated him with. She laughed and shook her head in exasperation. “I suppose some people are beyond help, isn’t that right Jooheon-ah?” She teased again. The second youngest met her gaze with a wide dimpled grin. 

“I don’t know what you mean, Eomma. I’m perfectly behaved” He said sarcastically. She laughed at his reaction. 

“Yes, of course you are. That’s a lovely necklace by the way. Where did you get it? I might get myself one.” She teased.

“I- uh- I found it.” He stammered out, caught out by her joke. His eyes widened a little. “I can get you one if you’d like” He offered genuinely. 

“I think I’ll pass on that one, Robin Hood.” She laughed, rolling her eyes. 

 

2017/??/??  
DISTRICT 9 (Namyangju Psychiatric Hospital 남양주시 정신 병원)  
approx. 19km due north east of Seoul 서울특별시  
DISTRICT STATUS: YELLOW

 

The haze was oppressive, it swam around in his lungs and tugged at the back of his eyes. The uncomfortable weight had him swaying uncontrollably in his bed. He pitched harshly to the right and felt the drip tear from his neck as he tumbled to the ground. He tried to twist and catch himself as he fell but the jacket securing his arms was too tight. He landed heavily on his shoulders and felt the pain blossom up to his neck, joining the throbbing from the torn and bleeding skin. He laid in silence, too shocked to do anything but writhe pitifully, desperate to alleviate some of the pressure on his bruised limb. The fog started to clear and pieces started to fly back to him. Someone shouting, Hyunwoo was….. angry. They tried to explain… something. He couldn’t remember. Where was he? A hospital. They thought he was crazy. He tried to show them what he could do, tried to make them see. He was crazy. Someone else was crazy too, someone he could now feel. Close, in the next room maybe? The warmth trailed up his back, who was it? Why wouldn’t his brain connect the dots. Before he realised it he was being hauled back onto the bed by a pair of burly porters. A nurse came and quickly fixed the drip, inserting it into a different part of his neck. He felt the cool liquid seep into his veins, the bandage press tight against his new wound. He felt the world start to go black and as it did one last sliver of reality passed his lips. 

“Minhyuk” 

 

Minhyuk opened his eyes to the blank white ceiling. He wriggled a little and quickly resigned himself to The fact that he wouldn't be able to move. He sighed heavily and closed his eyes once again, when he concentrated we could still feel someone nearby. Pain sparked through his shoulder a made him wince. A burning sensation crawled up his neck and settled around the needle buried in the pale skin. What ever they had dosed him with it wasn’t a lot. Just enough to keep his body weak, not that they need to since the straight jacket immobilised him perfectly. 

 

2017/03/14  
DISTRICT 8 (FORMERLY UIJEONGBU 의정부시)  
approx. 20km due north of Seoul 서울특별시  
DISTRICT STATUS: UNDETERMINED

 

Screaming. That was all Kihyun could hear. He threw the covers off of himself and sprinted towards the front door. The fact that he was running towards the danger didn’t seem to phase him like it should. There was only one thing running through his head. The others. He had to make sure they were safe. He nearly threw himself down the stairs in his haste to find his friends, colliding with the discoloured wall of his once warm and happy family home. A hand grabbed and threw him back against the wall harshly. His head slammed against the plaster and his vision swam. He opened his mouth to spit some sort of insult at the assailant but a hand pressed tightly over his lips. 

“Will you slow down for a damn second!” Hoseok hissed in his face. Kihyun frowned and mumbled through the hand still pressing his mouth closed. “You need to keep your voice down or you’ll get us all caught” He pulled the hand away slowly. 

“Us?” Kihyun gasped out in confusion. 

“Jooheon and Kyun are out the back but we need to go and we need to go now.” The oldest flinched at the sound of rifles from the front. The gunfire was close. Just outside the door. Kihyun nodded sharply and grabbed his shoes, trying to fight them on whilst grabbing his coat and making a dash for the kitchen. 

“What the hell are you doing?” Hoseok half shouted as he watched the younger dive for the cupboard under the sink. His head snapped between the boys outside, the fight out the front and his friend. After a few seconds Kihyun stood again holding up a black backpack in triumph. “Is that a ‘go bag’?” He frowned rushing to open the back door. 

“You’re damn fucking right it is. You can thank me for my paranoia later” Kihyun grinned, running out to join the trio at the garden’s rear most fence. “What the fuck happened?” He asked the others as the vaulted the flimsy wooden structure. The two youngest simply shrugged and began to clamber down the steep bank in front of them, heading for the thin river at the bottom. 

“I don’t really know” Hoseok tried to speak as he clambered down the muddy slope. “I woke up and people were panicking. Saw a couple of soldiers get dropped on the way to find Heon and Kyun. I’m thinking that maybe killing Won’s father might have started an all out war.” He huffed and pushed through the heavy undergrowth. 

“Whatever started it I have a feeling I know how it’s going to finish.” Kihyun shivered at the thought. 

 

 

REPORT-  
2017/03/14 

District 8 (FORMERLY UIJEONGBU 의정부시) - Major skirmishes have taken place. Significant loss of life.

Military Casualties - 18  
Civilian Casualties - 31 (approximation before full consensus) 

Any missing civilians or personnel are no longer deemed a responsibility of the Government of The Republic of South Korea. This District is extremely dangerous. All personnel must retreat to the nearest checkpoint. 

ALL PERSONNEL AND CIVILIANS BE ADVISED DISTRICT 8 (FORMERLY UIJEONGBU 의정부시) IS NOW A BLACK DISTRICT 

 

 

2017/03/14  
DISTRICT 9 (Namyangju Psychiatric Hospital 남양주시 정신 병원)  
approx. 19km due north east of Seoul 서울특별시  
DISTRICT STATUS: YELLOW

 

Hyunwoo leant his head the heavy wood of the door. On the other side he could hear porters and nurses shuffling past. No one had bothered to check on him since last night. Left to his own devices the silence was stifling. Apparently this was temporary, they were just waiting for a transport to take him to the nearest penitentiary. He was supposed to have gone this morning but something had come up. He didn’t know what exactly but the murmurings he’d heard were enough to have his heart in his throat. He scrunched his eyes tight and tried to feel out for Hyungwon and Minhyuk. He drew a blank. If there was one thing Hyunwoo despised it was being alone. It was always too quiet. His mind always wandering, finding tiny slivers of dark thoughts and drawing them out into tapestries of nightmarish detail. He huffed and threw his head back, banging it on the wood behind him in an attempt to dislodge the thoughts and with them alleviate some of the tightness in his chest. It didn’t work, instead it only made him think more. Where were the others? Were they ok? Would Hoseok and Kihyun be ok looking after the two youngest? Did Changkyun’s parents know what happened? Did Minhyuk’s mother- oh god Minhyuk’s mother. She must be so worried. Blindly he prayed that what ever was going on out there, what ever disaster had struck, significant enough to have staff murmuring in the halls, had nothing to do with District 8 and more importantly his family. 

 

2017/03/16  
DISTRICT 8 (FORMERLY UIJEONGBU 의정부시)  
approx. 20km due north of Seoul 서울특별시  
DISTRICT STATUS: BLACK

 

The walking was the hardest part. Jooheon had never been lazy, he was more than proficient at running. But walking, walking for hours, for days, it was taking it’s toll. His whole body ached with the strain it took to navigate the rough ground. They’d been travelling south for about 2 and half days now. The town they’d always known had sunk behind the tall imposing hills. None of them had travelled much further than Seoul and not for a long time. Any knowledge they might have had of the area outside of the dusty roads and dirty buildings they called home was nearly forgotten and entirely useless. They didn’t hear much of anything for a long time. Even the forest around them seemed content to be silent. It was unnerving, no birds, no nature, no wind below the heavy eves of the wood and no guns. Nothing. 

Coming across a thin stream they decided to take a rest. Changkyun leant heavily against Jooheon as they watched the two oldest flutter around, unable to stop moving now they’d started. Hoseok pulled out an outdated map from Kihyun’s bag while the younger filled their water bottles. Dropping a foul tasting tablet in each. They were bitter and chalky and at first it had made Jooheon gag repeatedly. Now he’d grown used to it he was just thankful that the water was potable. 

“Ok, If we keep heading south we’ll hit District 6 eventually but I’m not sure that’s such a good idea.” Hoseok frowned at the paper in his hands. “If we go there there’s more of a chance we’ll get caught. We don’t know who knows our names and faces and I’m not sure I wanna risk it.” 

“Well what the fuck else are we gonna do?” Kihyun muttered bitterly, shaking each water bottle roughly to mix in the dissolved tablets. 

“Minhyuk’s mom” Changkyun murmured. He seemed hesitant to get involved in what was clearly heading towards a small domestic but couldn’t help the words that slipped out. Jooheon frowned in confusion and cocked his head, urging him to continue his thought. “Minhyuk’s mom had to stay at the hospital for a few days to cover shifts right? Which means she wasn’t in town when everything went south.” He glanced around to check everyone was following and then continued. “If we head for District 9 then maybe we can find her, she might be able to help us track the others down.” He finished, snuggling himself back into Jooheon’s side and closing his eyes again. 

“Good idea” Hoseok grinned proudly. “We’ll make a move for the hospital, it should be this way” He spoke with more confidence now, pointing down stream. 

“Are you sure?” Kihyun questioned him, squinting in the direction they were supposed to be going, eyeing the trees sceptically. Hoseok huffed in frustration. 

“You can check the map if you want.” He retorted a little sharply. Kihyun put his hands up in a gesture of surrender. 

“No, no. It’s ok. You’re in charge.” He softened his voice, backing down. None of them wanted to argue. They needed to save their energy but it was hard to remain level headed when they were all so scared. 

It took a few more minutes for them to gather themselves back up and head off in the new direction but now they seemed to walk a little faster, motivated by purpose instead of wandering a little aimlessly. After they’d set a comfortable pace Hoseok handed Changkyun the map and let him figure out how long it would take to reach the border, provided they were heading in the right direction. It didn’t take long for the youngest to figure out the math and hand the paper back with a quiet murmur.

“It should take about 6 hours. Maybe” He blushed a little. Despite his insane level of intelligence the 15 year old never liked showing it of, always doubting his skills. As if being fluent in nearly three languages wasn’t credit enough to his abilities. Hoseok ruffled his hair and wrapped an arm around his shoulder, pulling the younger to his side in a mix of a headlock and a bear hug. 

“My smart boy!” He teased lovingly, knowing how much the shorter kid hated it. 

“Hyung leave him alone” Jooheon called over his shoulder, scrambling ahead a little to catch up with Kihyun. The older had chosen to walk quietly by himself, beating the passing bracken and bushes with a stick he’d found. His frustration and anger obvious in the way the greenery flew up in random directions, some of it landing in the short teenager’s hair. 

“Hey Hyung, what’s up?” Jooheon grinned as he caught up with the older. Kihyun simply shrugged and carried on battering the nescient plant life. “Seriously, are you ok? You seem upset.” Kihyun only huffed and shucked the straps of the back pack further on to his shoulders. “Wanna talk about it?” He pressed again, gently nudging the shorter boy with his elbow. 

“It’s nothing.” The older sighed out. He glanced to his left at the other boy and rolled his eyes at the raised eyebrows that met him. Behind his he could hear Hoseok and Changkyun playing around, laughing and quipping at each other. “It just feel wrong.” 

“What does?” Jooheon frowned, urging Kihyun to continue. 

“Changkyun. We’re dragging him away from his family. Making him walk fucking miles without proper food and with hardly any water. It’s not like any of us can protect him, none of us are bullet proof. He’s just a boy and we’ve made him fucking well kill someone. We’re so desperate to protect him but I feel like we’re just ruining him before his life has even started.” The brunette hissed out quietly, not wanting the youngest to hear him. Jooheon nodded as he spoke, he then took a minute to mull over the words and think of his response. Kihyun was grateful that the usually boisterous and silly teen was taking him and his words so seriously. 

“I feel bad too” Was how eventually started. “I begged him to let me do it, practically got on my knees and grovelled at his damn shoes but the kid wasn’t listening. He’s smart, too smart for his own good sometimes, you can’t manipulate him or trick him, he always sees straight through it. He knows what he gotten himself into, that we’re doing are best to do right by him and each other.” Jooheon tried to placate his hyung. Repeating himself “He knows what he’s gotten himself into.” 

“That doesn’t mean he can handle it” Kihyun whispered back as they watched the youngest push past them, Hoseok hot on his heels. Jooheon flashed a grin at the older and started to run after the pair. The short teen rolled his eyes and huffed. “Can you three stop behaving like fucking children?! This isn’t a fucking holiday!” He bellowed after them. The other three laughed and Hoseok turned around briefly to meet the other’s gaze. 

“Pull your stick out of you ass for five damn minutes and come have some fun, you old woman!” He laughed out before turning to carry on messing around with he youngest pair. 

“Get fucked!” He shouted back, jogging to catch up with the other three. 

The next few hours ticked by quite quickly. Despite Kihyun’s somewhat low mood they managed to press on in high spirits. It was easy to forget the danger they were in when the only company aside from them selves was the silent pillars of wood and crawling spools of underground. The sun had arched high in the sky and was now sinking steadily towards the horizon. The thick leaves cutting out most of it’s light unnaturally early, shadows whirling out and tinging the surroundings in a blueish hue. The playful chatter of the four boys ceased in confusion as they came across a wide road. Hoseok looked at the map and frowned. The straight tarmac stretched out both ways hooking sharply on the right side and disappearing. The left side of the road seemed to carry on for ages and in the blurry distance they could just about make out the silhouette of a guard station. There was no mistaking it. This was the border of the two districts. They were a lot further north than they excepted to be, whether by Hoseok’s miscalculation or by accidentally doubling back on themselves slightly during their trek. They’d hit the new district and hour earlier than expected but it was clear that this place was well traveled and most likely filled with soldiers. They glanced at each other, frowning at the expanse of dark forest behind them as if it had somehow tricked them into losing their way. 

“We should head south along the road” Hoseok spoke quietly, cautious of who might hear them. The others nodded and hummed in agreement before sinking back into the shadows of the tree line and loosely following the line of the road. 

No one spoke for fear of giving away their position, the hint that civilisation still existed seemed more threatening than comforting. The sun dropped lower and the little light it provided slipped away with it, the moon illuminating the way instead. Changkyun huffed in frustration. He didn’t like being wrong and he liked being lost even less. Jooheon placed a reassuring arm around his shoulders and squeezed gently. 

Without warning the trees thinned out into a clearing, long grass swished gently in the breeze. A tall building climbed out of the ground and towered above them, weeds and climbing plants crawled up it outside, weaving in and out of the smashed windows and forcing the door to remain slightly ajar. Whatever it’s purpose had once been it was clearly long disused. Nature fighting to reclaim a foothold in the dark breeze blocks and heavy mortar. 

“We should rest here for the night” Kihyun suggested, glancing sympathetically at the slumped posture of the youngest two. Hoseok nodded and made his way out into the clearing first, wading through the long grass and trampling a thin path for the others. He tugged experimentally at the door and found little give in it’s position. He pulled again much harder and forced himself through the gap, waiting just inside for the others. They surveyed the inside of the building warily. It was some sort of warehouse. A few old tables and chairs scattered and broken, covered in a think layer of dust. A rusting iron stair case climbed the wall to their right, a door at it’s foot padlocked shut, the small glass window covered from the inside in some sort of paper. The door at the top of the dubious looking steps sat slightly ajar. Weeds sprouting from the rotting wood of the bottom of the frame. Another two doors stood on the left side of the room leading to more side rooms, each secured with more heavy padlocks. The air was musty and damp, the heavy dust floating around the large space and the rot of the wood making it hard to breathe. Moon light slithered in through the gaps in the shattered glass of the windows at least another story above their heads. It was no where near perfect but it would do. Kihyun leant his bag up against the wall next to him and started to collect up the broken wood. Despite the damp seeping up from the concrete floor the wood was mostly dry and the fire was easily lit. Before long they’d all huddled closely around it, cautious of making it too big in case anyone saw the light. 

“Maybe we should make this base camp for a few days” Jooheon whispered, eyes never leaving the dancing flames. “It’s right on the border and depending where we are the hospital can’t be too far, right?” He reasoned, glancing around to gauge the reactions of the others. Kihyun nodded and Hoseok hummed in agreement. He looked over to find Changkyun fast asleep, his head in Kihyun’s lap. 

“Let’s get some sleep and have a look around in the morning” Hoseok murmured. He helped Kihyun shuffle Changkyun off his lap and used his jacket as a makeshift pillow for the 15 year old. It didn’t take long for the other three to drift off, taking comfort in each other’s presence despite the gaping hole they all felt at the absence of Hyungwon, Minhyuk and Hyunwoo. 

 

2017/03/18  
DISTRICT 8 (FORMERLY UIJEONGBU 의정부시)  
approx. 20km due north of Seoul 서울특별시  
DISTRICT STATUS: BLACK

 

It had been just over a day since the four boys had found the old warehouse and in that time they’d surveyed the woodland on both sides of the road quite thoroughly. From what they could work out they were about 7 hours on foot from the hospital in the next district. The warehouse itself was a fair distance from the road, the thick trees soaked up the sounds of passing trucks and it was almost entirely invisible until one set foot in the clearing. It was perfect. They decided to go with Jooheon’s plan and made the large building their camp. Ration packs were starting to run low but the guard’s station 40 minutes down the road was well stocked and only manned by a few soldiers. In a few days they’d hit it and see what they could steal. For now though, they’d be fine. The river they’d used to help navigate their way curved off about a mile back and ran down towards district 6. It was small but perfect for collecting drinking water and occasionally washing in. Now they considered themselves to be more settled they turned their sights inwards. Starting with the one unlocked door they could see the four boys climbed the rusting staircase one by one and pushed the rotting door aside, it fell off it’s hinges and crashed loudly to the floor, sending up a puff of dirt and dust, a few papers dived of the desk at the rush of air and fluttered quietly to the ground. Once the air had cleared and settled again they started to explore. Kihyun and Hoseok rifled through the desk, looking for any weapons or anything that might prove useful. Jooheon made a b-line for the nearest shelf, eyeing up the various ornaments excitedly. Changkyun stayed back a little and glanced around. His eyes fell to a piece of paper on the floor, it was dusty and had some sort of coffee stain on it but the document was clearly important. He crouched down and picked it up, frowning as he read through the information quickly. 

“Uh guys…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With any luck it shouldn't take me a decade to finish writing the next chapter.


	5. Chapter 3 - Corydalis Flexuosa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Who are you?” Hoseok asked, a little standoffish.
> 
> “You really don’t remember me? It wasn’t that long ago.” The silhouette stood and the light from the door way illuminated his dark features. The man was short and a little chubby with a round face and cropped black hair...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry it's taken me so long to write this chapter! I just started university and wildly underestimated the work load. I'll try to write as much as I can of the first part before things get too hectic. I'm sorry to do this, please be patient with me ^^

2017/03/18  
DISTRICT 8 (FORMERLY UIJEONGBU 의정부시)  
approx. 20km due north of Seoul 서울특별시  
DISTRICT STATUS: BLACK

Everyone stopped and turned to face the youngest. The paper in his hand shook a little, his eyes never leaving the black words printed on to its surface. 

“What is it?” Jooheon asked tentatively approaching the younger and taking the paper from his hand. He glanced over the words and cursed under his breath. “This is bad.” 

“How bad is bad?” Kihyun asked, both he and Hoseok moved towards the youngest two. 

“This warehouse. It- We shouldn’t be here.” Changkyun mumbled out. 

“What do you mean?” Hoseok asked, becoming increasingly frustrated with the lack of information he was receiving. He took the paper and read over it. Kihyun did the same over his shoulder. 

“You don’t think they’ll come back will they?” Jooheon almost whispered. 

Hoseok shook his head. There was no way. The place clearly hadn’t been used in years. He just prayed that that didn’t change. 

“Stop panicking. It’s been abandoned for fucking years. No one would even bother looking here.” Kihyun said firmly. He pulled the paper from Hoseok’s hand a tossed it to the ground. The other three watched it flutter to the dusty floor and followed Kihyun out of the room. 

Despite Kihyun’s words the four teenagers couldn’t help but feel a little tense. What if someone did come back? What if they left something behind? What if whatever was behind those locked doors was never meant to be found? Over the next few hours, the futility of the situation seemed to settle heavy on their shoulders. No matter how hard they tried they’d never be safe. 

By the time evening came the stress of the day had left them all a little exhausted. Jooheon and Changkyun offered to go and get water but Hoseok didn’t seem comfortable leaving them to go alone so, at Kihyun’s urging, he followed after them to make sure they stayed safe. The still forest was unforgiving, his feet dragged and caught against every bush, every piece of undergrowth. Bramble thorns caught in his trousers and scratched at his ankles. He huffed out a sigh and trudged on after the youngest pair. Soon the river came into view, Jooheon had rolled up his trousers, pulled off his shoes and socks. He splashed around in the shallow water while Changkyun watched him from the banks. Hoseok shook his head in exasperation in and took a seat next to the Maknae. The three spent a little longer than planned at the river, it was calm and relaxing. It was almost easy to forget what had happened over the last few days. Almost. The walk back seemed to take an age, Jooheon whined almost constantly about how his shoes were rubbing and could they stop for a minute so he could let his feet dry off a little more. It only took a few more minutes of bitching for Hoseok to relent and let the boy sit on a fallen tree. While they were there he decided to explore a little. He strolled off the path and wound his way between the coniferous trees. The path faded out in distance and the sound of the flowing river became louder again. He paused to enjoy the peace and quiet. He heard Jooheon shout from the path behind and shook his head. Could the kid not stay quiet for more than a few minutes? Another shout, louder this time. Changkyun. Something was wrong. Hoseok turned on his heel and sprinted, ignoring the bracken and weeds that wrapped around his ankles and attempted to trip him up. The path came into sight and so did the boys. Changkyun was on the floor, grasping his forehead. Jooheon was pressed up against the trunk of a tree. The tall man had a gun pressed solidly to the 16-year-olds chest. He towered over him, clad in black combat pants and boots. The bulletproof vest strapped tightly around his torso held multiple attachments for weapons. Hoseok crouched quickly to avoid being spotted and dived behind the undergrowth next him. Thankfully he went undetected over the sound of the man shouting. 

“How many of you are there?” The attacker shouted, emphasising his point by roughly shoving Jooheon against the tree again. 

“None of your fucking business” Jooheon growled out. Hoseok would have been proud were the situation less dire.

“I’m gonna give you 5 seconds or your friend is gonna have more to worry about then a split eyebrow.” The oldest didn’t know what to do. He could easily take the guy were they to fight hand to hand but with a gun added to the mix, Hoseok was practically helpless. 

“If you give me a second to breathe then I can tell you.” Jooheon choked out. The man relented and took a step back, relaxing his grip slightly. Jooheon took the opportunity and quickly raised his foot, kicking the taller square in the chest. The force sent the assailant stumbling back slightly. Jooheon made to dive for the gun in his hand. A desperate attempt to do something, anything. It was futile. The gun raised quickly and Jooheon froze with fear. This was it. 

“I gave you every chance to save yourself. It’s a shame you were too stupid to listen.” 

The shot rang out and the body dropped heavily to the ground. He crumpled unnaturally onto his front as blood seeped out of his chest and pooled around him. The three boys stood frozen in place. Tearing their eyes away from the body on the floor and locking on to Kihyun’s also frozen form. The gun was raised, shaking slightly in his hands, the black metal standing out starkly against his pale skin. 

“Where did you get that?” Hoseok breathed out, fear lacing his voice. Kihyun gulped and lowered the weapon. 

“I told you you’d thank me for my paranoia didn’t I?” He didn’t meet the older’s eyes, instead focusing on the form of the man he’d just killed. This was bad. Very bad. 

“You took the guns?” Jooheon barked out, startling himself and the others at how loud his voice seemed in the absolute silence of the forest. Kihyun shook his head. 

“I left the other one” He explained quietly. 

“Why?” A small voice asked. Changkyun was still on the ground, his hand covered in blood as he tried to put pressure on the split through his eyebrow. 

“In case we needed it. Which we did so you can all thank me later cos I just saved your fucking lives. Now we need to get the hell out of here, we’re not the only people in his forest and the last time I checked the government weren’t hiring deaf soldiers.” He finished, striding up to the youngest and offering him a hand up. Changkyun took it hesitantly and they started to stumble back towards the warehouse. Hoseok didn’t move, couldn’t move. He felt sick to his stomach. Another body, another person’s blood on their hands. A gentle nudge from Jooheon finally broke him from his thoughts. He looked over at the younger and found the same fear in his eyes that he knew was filling his own. The four rushed through the undergrowth in silence as Kihyun lead the way back to the building they had adopted as their base. No one spoke. No one knew what to say. How to begin. 

The clearing seemed even more quiet than usual. Even the trees were silent, staring down at them, passing judgement. Kihyun stopped in his tracks and frowned at the door. 

“Ki, let’s go inside. It’s almost dark.” Hoseok urged him to move, nudging him forward with his left shoulder. Kihyun shook his head. 

“The door.” His voice wavered a little as he spoke. “I shut the door when I left.” They all stared at the building. The door was pulled open, wider than usual. Hoseok grabbed the gun still held loosely in Kihyun’s hand. Tightening his fingers around the grip, took a deep breath and moved swiftly through the long grass. Glancing back at the other three he gestured for them to duck down and did the same, crouching by the open door. It had been a long time since he’d held a gun, even longer since he’d shot one but the cold metal in his hand felt strangely familiar. Thinking back to his training he took a deep breath before quietly moving out from behind the door. It was difficult to see into the dark building but the silhouette of someone sat on the floor by their burnt out fire was unmistakable. The hands of the silhouette raised in a surrendering fashion and a voice called out calmly. 

“Take it easy, ‘Seok.” The voice was familiar. Where had he heard it before? He stood, keeping the gun trained on the unmoving figure, and carefully made his way inside. “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you, you’ve grown a bit” The man laughed, taking in Hoseok’s well-built form. 

“Who are you?” Hoseok asked, a little standoffish.

“You really don’t remember me? It wasn’t that long ago.” The silhouette stood and the light from the doorway illuminated his dark features. The man was short and a little chubby with a round face and cropped black hair. Hongsik. The gun clattered to the floor and Hoseok barrelled for the older man, wrapping him in a tight hug. 

“Hyung! How are you? Where have you been?” The questions came tumbling out before he could stop them. Hongsik simply laughed, shaking his head a little, and patted Hoseok on the back fondly. 

“We’ll have plenty of time to talk later but I think, first, we should tell your boys it’s safe to come inside.” Hoseok nodded and quickly went to collect the other three. All of them were more than wary stepping into the warehouse. They sized up the man stood by the fire pit. 

“Guys, this is Hongsik. He’s a friend of my dad’s” Hoseok introduced them. 

“You mean that fucking crazy guy from the resistance?” Kihyun spat out, narrowing his eyes suspiciously at the older man. Hongsik laughed uproariously, clutching his stomach at the strain.  
“I’m glad your dad spoke so fondly of me, Hoseok. I prefer the term deranged, it makes me seem more threatening.” He grinned wolfishly at the boy still sizing him up. Kihyun scoffed at the notion, the man in front of him was far from threatening, all soft features and big smiles. 

“I’m Jooheon and this is Changkyun” Jooheon spoke up, desperate to break some of the awkward tension. Hongsik nodded and gave them both a little bow. 

“So you must be Kihyun, I have to say I’m impressed. You were somewhat infamous back in the day.” Kihyun frowned, wrinkling his nose in disgust but allowed the other to continue. “yeah, no one would shut up for weeks about this gobby kid who almost got his ass beat for cussing out soldiers.” Kihyun could barely contain the proud smirk that had started to slide on to his face. 

“So, how did you find us then?” Changkyun spoke up. He was almost painfully shy and had hidden himself a little behind Jooheon but his curiosity had won out after a few minutes of internal wrestling while the others spoke. 

“I got word about a house fire in Uijeongbu and recognised the family name. Then I remembered how that dog’s son was a friend of yours and got a little curious. After some digging, I got word that a few kids had been arrested that night and when I saw it was Hyunwoo and Minhyuk I knew you’d be involved somehow. I went to the town and asked around but you weren’t at your house, someone said something about a shack so I went there, love what you did with the place by the way.” Hongsik flashed a grinned at his young friend before continuing. “Could I find you? Nope, of course not. I tried to get an idea of what had happened but all I could find out was that the army was looking for some old warehouse Hyungwon’s father used to use. It was a bit of a gamble coming here, to be honest. They kept saying it was on the northern border but I could only think of one warehouse and this was it. Needless to say, I’m glad I found you before they did. Although judging by the way they were talking it’ll take them about a decade and a half to figure out they’re looking in the wrong area. I’m just curious to know how they found out about it in the first place.” The man speculated as he finished his monologue. All four of the teenager’s in front of him had paled considerably. They just assumed the guy in the forest had found them by chance. Although the warehouse was out of use it made sense a few of the cartel’s men might come and investigate the area from time to time. But what if the only reason he came there is because he knew the army was looking for them? What if he lead the soldiers right to them? The more they thought about it the worse the situation seemed to get. 

“We need to leave, now.” Hoseok said firmly, grabbing the bag off the floor and going to pick up the gun. “We won't be able to remove all traces of us but maybe we can-“ Hongsik cut him off. 

“No no, you boys stay here. You’re in a good position if you want to break out your friends, which I’m assuming is why you’re all here. I have eyes and ears everywhere. If they come we’ll know about it well in advance.” He sat himself back down and began to rebuild the fire in front of him, far too relaxed for everyone’s liking. Hoseok took his word and sat down next to him, firing more questions at the older man. 

“How is everyone? How’s Jaemin?” He asked tentatively. Hongsik smiled. 

“They’re all ok, your brothers south at the moment. Last I heard he was sabotaging some work camp in District 16.” The tubby man replied, pilling up little bits of kindling and fumbling around for his lighter. 

“What?” Jooheon exclaimed “Your brother? Your missing-for-two-years brother has been fine the whole time?” He almost shouted in shock and exasperation. Hoseok shrugged. 

“The only reason everyone said he was missing is because when they came round to do the consensus that year he wasn’t there. I sure as hell wasn’t gonna be the one to tell them he’d run off to join the resistance. They already suspected our family enough as it was.” He smiled up at the younger, trying to placate him a little. 

“In fairness, it’s not like they were wrong in suspecting you guys.” Kihyun mused. Hoseok simply shrugged again. Hongsik chuckled and gestured for the other three to sit down before passing them each a large ration pack. 

“You guys must be hungry, just have some food and relax. We can worry about everything tomorrow.” The smile on his face was warm and almost fatherly. They took his advice and settled in as the moon rose slowly into the vast, empty sky. 

2017/03/19  
DISTRICT 8 (FORMERLY UIJEONGBU 의정부시)  
approx. 20km due north of Seoul 서울특별시  
DISTRICT STATUS: BLACK

The sun rose low, Kihyun sat by the door of the looming building and stared up at the pink expanse. It was always so quiet, so empty. His mind was racing in circles, stuck on the same thought. Hyunwoo. Hyunwoo was his best friend, his brother. They’d been through thick and thin together and had barely left each other’s sides since they were old enough to walk. Not having him here was almost painful. It felt like there was a gaping in whole in his side. A dull throb that clawed constantly at his heart and morphed into sharp stabs through his chest when he thought about it too hard. They had to find a way to get them out. They had to. The door pushed a little further open and Hoseok pressed himself tightly against the younger’s side, leaning heavily into him and enjoying the warmth. 

“You seemed sad, what’s wrong?” The older asked leaning his head on Kihyun’s shoulder. 

“I miss him.” Was all he said. Hoseok nodded in understanding. 

“I can tell. I miss them too. I just hope they’re ok. Do you think they’re ok?” He asked. Despite the fact he was older by a year Hoseok had a way of seeming so innocent at times. It made it easier for Kihyun to mother him. He shrugged, being careful not to jostle his friend too much. 

“I doubt it.” He replied grimly. There was no point in trying to sugar coat it. The two sat in silence after that, watching the sunrise. Hongsik, Changkyun and Jooheon joined them outside before long and they set out after the resistance leader as he guided them towards the border. 

“Where are we going?” Hoseok asked after a few minutes of blindly following the older man. Hongsik glanced over his shoulder and smiled.

“We’re going to meet some friends of mine and ask them about a certain hospital” He replied with a sly grin. Hoseok simply nodded in acceptance and carried on trudging through the undergrowth. Kihyun watched them carefully from the back. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Hongsik. He just didn’t trust Hongsik. The guy had shown up out of nowhere after ditching Hoseok and his family years ago. He could vaguely remember the tubby man appearing once in a while and taking Hoseok and his parents off for days at a time. Every time they came back Hoseok seemed different, colder. A few years and Kihyun found out about the resistance, about Hoseok’s training. Thinking back he never really questioned who Hongsik was, he just assumed he was some cold-hearted cruel guy. He was the leader of the district’s resistance. How could he be anything else? Spending time with him, however, was showing a side to the man he never considered could have existed. Hongsik was kind, warm-hearted and funny. Kihyun didn’t trust it at all. As long as he’d known the man he’d accepted that his assumption of Hongsik was accurate. Faced with a different reality, a reality in which Hongsik was just a nice guy who knew his way around a gun, it left a sour taste in his mouth. 

Crossing the border had been easy and the flatter ground laid out in front of them was a blessing compared to the thick woods they’d grown accustomed to. By the time they reached their destination, the sun had climbed significantly in the clear blue sky. Coming through the thin trees they could see the small group of people waiting for them. Hongsik stopped a way back and crouched down, waiting for the others to follow him before he began to speak. 

“I want you boys to wait here. When I give the all clear you can come join us but I need to make sure it’s safe first.” and with that, he got up and moved towards the tiny clearing. 

“How do we know when it’s clear?” Changkyun whispered. Hoseok simply shook his head and turned a little in an attempt to hear what was being said. Hongsik took his sweet time before calling them out. He wasn’t quiet about it either, boldly shouting out through the trees. Walking into the gathering the four teenagers immediately spotted a familiar face. Minhyuk’s mother smiled and laughed as Jooheon, Changkyun and Hoseok leapt on her enveloped the short woman in a huge hug. Kihyun simply gave her cautious smile, still embarrassed from their last meeting. She waved in response. 

“I’m glad to see introductions aren’t in order, Jisoo.” Hongsik laughed addressing the nurse. She laughed as well. 

“I’m just glad everyone’s ok.” Jisoo responded ruffling Changkyun’s hair lovingly. 

“Are my Mom and Dad ok?” The 15-year-old asked. “Are they worried about me?” Jisoo gave him a sympathetic smile before answering. 

“After the district status changed I think they decided to stay in Seoul.” She explained carefully. Her intention wasn’t to upset the boy but it was obvious that his parents had left with barely a second thought for him, it wasn’t surprising. The other three men in the clearing shook their heads disapprovingly. All of them were clad in the classic resistance uniform. White combat trousers, paired with white flack jackets and rifles, and a pair of light tan combat boots. The man stood closest to Hongsik was taller and on the skinny side but clearly held a significant amount of muscle under his uniform. He had dark hair, cropped short at the sides and a little longer on top, and wide eyes. He must have been younger than Hongsik by about 20 years, in fact, he couldn’t have been much older than Hoseok and Hyunwoo. The leader quickly introduced him as Chanyeol, a fighter from District 13. The next man to be introduced was quite a bit shorter with very short dark hair and a cold glare permanently fixed to his face. A friend of Chanyeol’s, of a similar age, also from District 13 by the name of Kyungsoo. Finally, they were introduced to the last man. He had shoulder length hair tied up in a loose bun and a friendly grin permanently plastered on his face. Unlike the other two, he introduced himself. Heechul the co-leader of, in his own words, a sizeable group of skilled fighters from District 10. He oozed confidence and charm, Jooheon and Changkyun immediately warmed to him. After the reunions and introductions, they got down to business. Chanyeol, Kyungsoo and Heechul listened intently as the boys explained what had happened. Questions were few and far between but the ones posed were easy enough to answer little details. Like how they got the gun and how they knew where the gasoline would be. Jisoo stayed quiet the whole time. Seeming content to let the others ask questions while she simply absorbed the information she was being given. 

“So, I asked around the hospital.” She finally spoke up once the storytelling had finished. “Obviously they won’t let me anywhere near the wing where they’re holding the boys but I managed to find out as much as I could.” She glanced around before continuing her explanation. “I’ll start with the good news. They were going to transport Hyunwoo 5 days ago but because of all the trouble in District 8 they had to postpone, so the whole thing may have been a blessing in disguise because it doesn’t look like they’ll be able to move him anytime soon.” She smiled a little triumphantly. 

“And the bad news?” Heechul asked carefully. 

“Yeah…” She paused, fixating on the ground with a sad look in her eyes. “They’ve locked Hyungwon and Minhyuk up, they’ve even drugged them. Apparently…” She faltered, her eyes misting up. “Apparently they’ve both been diagnosed with some sort of psychosis. I asked around but the only thing anyone would tell me is it had something to do with Hyungwon, one of the porters said he’d convinced himself he had a superpower.” She shook her head in exasperation. “I know they’re just using it as an excuse to hold them all. Practically everyone in the district knew about Hyungwon, it wasn’t exactly a secret.” She sighed. 

“I’m sorry, pardon?” Kyungsoo’s eyes widened a little. “What exactly are you saying?” 

“Hyungwon can…” Hoseok started. “Fuck, how do I explain this? He’s can uh…” 

“Teleport.” Jooheon cut in. “He can teleport and it’s fucking badass” He grinned. 

“I wouldn’t put it like that. It’s more like… shit, you’re right this is impossible to explain.” Changkyun frowned as he tried to order his thoughts. “It’s not really teleportation from what I can work out. As far as I can understand it’s more like dimensional travel. I’ve been researching this for years, looking at other cases and test subjects. All I can say for sure is that it’s something that only a few people have been born with, kind of like a mutation or an evolutionary step forward. It relies almost completely on the willpower and mental aptitude of the person using it and it’s basically like walking through a door, or so it would seem. Like you step out of dimension A and go straight to where you want to be in dimension B then you just walk back into dimension A in that spot. But like super fucking fast. Make sense?” Changkyun’s eyes lit up as he spoke, becoming more and more excited as he was able to actually talk science for once. The eight people around him all nodded slowly, none of them really sure whether they did actually understand it or not. 

“So… he can teleport then?” Chanyeol summarised. The youngest let out a frustrated huff and Kihyun sniggered at him. Kyungsoo pressed Changkyun for a little more information but all the questions he had drawn a blank with the younger. Soon talk turned to getting the boys out. It took a while for them to think of any kind of a solid plan. By the time they’d finished the sun was beginning to set and all nine of them had sat down in the short grass. Hongsik carefully laid out the plan so they were clear on the details. 

“Heechul, Chanyeol and I will head up the distraction. We’ll move in from the south and try to call away as many guards away as possible. Jisoo will try and distract as many staff as possible. God knows how but I’m sure you have something in mind.” He looked up at the woman for confirmation and she grinned devilishly. Suddenly the striking resemblance between her and her son was glaringly obvious. “Kyungsoo will have the truck ready to go. I have a guy that can get you the wheels, papers and uniform. No one should question you and if they do then you know what to do.” Kyungsoo nodded. 

“Pull rank. If that doesn’t work threaten to call ops and if that doesn’t work shoot them.” He said firmly. Hongsik grimaced a little at the harsh phrasing but nodded none the less. 

“That’ll do it. Boys you’re gonna go in and get them.” He addressed the four youngest. “If anyone can find them quickly it’ll be you. That sixth sense of yours will come in handy” He grinned at them, almost a little excited. Hoseok smiled, looking forward to being reunited with his friends. “We can get you into the ward but once you’re inside you’re on your own. We can’t get any more information and the longer we wait the higher the risk is of them moving Hyunwoo so we have to do this now.” He said firmly. Heechul nodded vigorously in agreement. 

“We have a camp a few miles further north. You can all stay with us there, we’ll prepare tomorrow and get moving the day after. If we hit them at night then they’ll be even less prepared.” He grinned in excitement. 

“Talking of night” Jisoo cut in. “It’s almost sundown and I have a shift to get to. I don’t know when I’ll get to see you boys again. If everything goes to plan I imagine I’ll be in quite a bit of trouble” She laughed nervously at the thought, looking around at all of them sadly. “Just promise me that whatever happens, you’ll look after my boy and each other. We don’t often get to choose our family but you’ve all been blessed. Treasure every second of it.” She finished, standing up and wiping a few stray tears from her round cheeks. The boys followed her, each taking their time to say goodbye. Hoseok gave her the tightest hug he could muster, he didn’t say anything but she knew exactly what he meant. ‘I love you and thank you for looking after us’. He let Jooheon take his turn next. Jooheon grabbed her and snuggled into her neck, soaking up the warmth of the hug. She laughed warmly as he got a little misty-eyed himself. 

“Here” He said taking off his necklace and placing it around her neck gently. “You should have this. If I’m gonna be Robin Hood then I’ve gotta do it properly.” He tried not to choke up as he hugged her again. She whispered a quiet thank you in his ear and gently kissed his forehead. Changkyun didn’t hesitate in clutching on to his adopted mother. She held on to him and nuzzled the top of his head. 

“You’ll be ok, sweetheart” She mumbled into his hair. “I love you so so much. Just keep your chin up and your head down.” He nodded and tried to get some reign of his emotions, it didn’t really work. Letting go of her he took a deep calming breath and mustered the biggest smile he could. She didn’t deserve to see him sad. Kihyun did nothing for a moment. He didn’t want to be upset to see her go but he couldn’t help the pain in his chest. Nor could he ignore it. Jisoo froze a little in surprise as the brunette pulled her into a hug. She smiled and stroked his hair. 

“I’m sorry I’m an asshole.” He whispered to her. Jisoo threw her head back and laughed before pulling his face back so she could look into his eyes. 

“You’re not an asshole, my love. Far from it. You’re one of the sweetest people I know” She smiled warmly. 

“But I-“ He tried to speak but the slightly taller woman cut him off. 

“You are, without a doubt, one of the sweetest people I’ve had the pleasure of meeting. I know you don’t like to show it but I can see it plain and clear. Now you look after those boys, god knows they’re hopeless on their own.” Kihyun smiled and nodded, closing his eyes as she kissed his forehead softly. Stepping back she addressed the other four men. 

“If this plan doesn’t work I’m holding you directly accountable, Hongsik.” She threatened playfully. “Look after my boys, you hear me?” All four of them nodded vigorously. With one last wave Jisoo was gone and with that, the remaining eight slipped off into the darkening woodland, following Heechul to the camp. 

2017/03/21  
DISTRICT 9 (Namyangju Psychiatric Hospital 남양주시 정신 병원)  
approx. 19km due north east of Seoul 서울특별시  
DISTRICT STATUS: YELLOW

Night fell over the looming facility. Even with almost two whole days to prepare the boys still felt overwhelmed by the current situation. They all crouched in wait behind Kyungsoo’s truck, the rumbling engine almost soothing as it grumbled steadily next to them. Soon enough they heard it, a series of explosions from the south. Three grenades going off in quick succession. Just a few more seconds until they had to move. The window of opportunity was tiny but if they did it right then within a few hours they would all be away and free. The guards came rushing past. They’d hoped that the pair stationed on the delivery door might leave but luck wasn’t on their side. After a few more seconds an alarm came blaring from inside the building. Jisoo. As the guards turned towards the noise the four boys moved out from under their cover and made a dash for the doorway. Hoseok and Kihyun jumped the guards pulling them down and quickly jamming a short blade in the softest part of their throats. Jooheon turned in time to watch Kyungsoo leap through to open window of the truck cab and tackle a lone guard heading their way. He didn’t dwell on it, instead, turning and diving through the now open door. The four of them rushed down the corridor. From what Jisoo had said they had to keep going straight and then hook a left towards the ward. After that, it was up to them. The turning came quicker than they expected, almost enough for them to question whether they were going the right way, but a familiar tug assured them they were on the right track. White doors lined the empty halls, the red lights flashing overhead in warning. It wouldn’t be long until the fire alarms were shut off and staff would begin filing back into the building but hopefully it would be long enough. Coming to a turning they stopped. The pull seemed to be coming from both directions. It was Kihyun that decided which way they went first. His eyes couldn’t leave the right half of the corridor. 

“This way.” He said firmly. “I can feel it” The others nodded in agreement, too panicked to argue. Every door they passed the pull got stronger and before long Kihyun had peeled off ahead of them, the urge to find his friends proving too much to handle and contain. He suddenly came to a halt. The other nearly crashing into him but they could feel it too. Hyunwoo. Jooheon quickly got on his knees and began picking the lock in front of him. Changkyun held his breath in anticipation. His eyes fixed on keeping a lookout for the others. The lock clicked and Jooheon wrenched the door open. Hyunwoo sat on the floor, staring up at them in shock. He had a pair of overalls tied loosely around his waist, only a tank top covering his torso, and his same pair of battered combat boots. His knuckles were covered in cuts in bruises a telltale sign that the walls of the dark room had taken the brunt of his frustration. Kihyun dove forward and wrapped the older in a hug before he could stop himself. 

“Ditch out on me like that again and I’ll fucking kill you.” He threatened as the leader dragged the pair of them off the floor grinning. 

“Noted. Where are Won and Hyuk?” He asked as he gave the others a quick hug each in turn. Now wasn’t the time for lengthy reunions. 

“Fuck knows, but we need to hurry.” Changkyun spoke up making his way out of the door and turning back the way they’d come. The others followed after him picking up their pace as the pull started to get stronger again. Much stronger. 

“Since when did Kyun start cussing?” Hyunwoo asked playfully as they ran through the white plain halls. Jooheon shrugged. 

“Maybe he picked it up off of mom” the younger teased loud enough for Kihyun to hear. The whisper of ‘get fucked’ that blew past as they moved wasn’t missed by any of them. The hallway seemed to go on forever, door after door appearing from nowhere as they searched for Minhyuk and Hyungwon. It was Hoseok that led them now and just like Kihyun had before he stopped suddenly in front of a white door, the small glass window was covered by a blind but the fluorescent lighting still shone through the material. Impatience took over and Hyunwoo ushered the others out of the way, delivering two swift kicks just to the right of the handle. The door swung open violently and crashed against the wall behind it, small splinters of wood flying off in every direction. The room was almost completely empty save for a heart rate monitor, a drip, a bed and the person in it. The boy looked up blearily at the commotion and frowned as the five of them ran over. Kihyun quickly got to work removing the long needle from the blonde’s neck while Changkyun and Jooheon began undoing the buckles of his straight jacket. Hoseok stood watch by the door while Hyunwoo attempted to snap Minhyuk out of his drug-induced daze. 

“Hyuk, come on buddy, we’ve gotta go.” He urged, patting the younger’s cheek gently. Minhyuk shook his head a few times as if he were trying to clear the fog and blinked heavily. 

“Hyung?” He asked in confusion. Hyunwoo nodded. 

“Yeah, It’s me and we’ve really gotta go. I need you to try and snap out of it for me ok?” Minhyuk nodded and stood on shaky legs, glancing around at the others as he did. 

“You would not believe how glad I am to see you guys” He grinned, his speech was a little slurred but the drug worked through his system quickly and even in those few short moments he had started to sober up. 

“I think we have some idea” Hoseok grinned from the doorway. “Can you run cos I think we ran out of minutes about 10 minutes ago” He laughed nervously. Minhyuk grinned. 

“I can try.” and he did, with Changkyun’s help they managed to carry on at almost the same pace they had set before. The pull was getting stronger and stronger by the second. It was as if the puzzle was one piece short and now it knew it was trying to complete itself, urging them on with renewed vigour. All of them knew when the door was coming up. If the intense waves of warmth coming from inside weren’t enough to give it away then the guard stationed at the entrance was. Without hesitation, Hoseok pulled his gun from its holster. He didn’t break stride as he raised the weapon at the man down the hall. The footsteps had alerted the soldier and he turned raising his rifle quickly. Not quick enough. Hoseok rapidly tapped the trigger, firing two shots and hitting the man in the head and chest. The body dropped heavily to the ground and the well-built teenager allowed his built up momentum to slam into the door. The latch broke immediately sending wood and a few lock components flying. The room itself was identical to Minhyuk’s but instead of sitting Hyungwon was laid out nearly catatonic on the bed. Again Kihyun set to work getting the needle out of his neck. Hoseok came to try and wake the boy up. The lanky figure blinked up at him, not seeing anything solid. 

“Come on, Won. We have to go. Please wake up” He begged, shaking Hyungwon’s shoulders. The younger simply mumbled as Hoseok pulled him up to sit and started to rub his back. Hoping it might do some good. “Ki, what do we do if he can’t walk?” He asked panicking a little. 

“‘m ‘kay” He mumbled out, slurring his words and swaying dangerously from side to side. 

“Guys, we gotta go.” Jooheon called, bouncing a little from foot to foot. Hoseok nodded. 

“Okay, look’s like I’m gonna have to carry you.” Hoseok grinned. Hyungwon shook head, standing up. 

“No, I- ugh fuck. I got this. Let’s just. Maybe just give me a hand, yeah?” The drug was wearing off quickly and he already seemed a lot more steady on his feet. Hoseok nodded and wrapped an arm around his waist. They made it back out into the corridor and started towards the delivery door. Suddenly the lights stopped flashing and the alarm stopped blaring. They really were out of time. Staff would start filling the halls any second. Turning back around the corner the door came into sight, thankfully the dead guards hadn’t been spotted. Kyungsoo was waiting in the cab of the truck, looking positively bored. As they burst out into the yard he looked up, sitting a little straighter in his seat and revving the engine. Hyunwoo was the first in, followed by Changkyun, Jooheon and then Kihyun. Hoseok and Hyunwoo managed to get both Minhyuk and Hyungwon into the back of the army vehicle with relative ease. As soon Hoseok’s feet left the floor Kihyun shouted for Kyungsoo to floor it and floor it, he did. The truck came flying out of the yard. Changkyun grabbed onto the rail for dear life and narrowly missed getting taken out by a body that flew down off the bench. All seven of them looked at the guy lying dead in the bed of the large truck. 

“Uh… Kyungsoo…” Kihyun started. “What the fuck is this?” He shouted over the roaring engine. 

“What’s it look like?” The driver shouted back sarcastically. Jooheon blankly recognised him as the guard from earlier.

“What’s he doing in here, man?” The kleptomaniac asked, almost a little exasperated. 

“Where the fuck else was I supposed to put it?” Kyungsoo bellowed back. Jooheon decided it was best to leave it, shaking his head in exasperation. 

Hyunwoo grinned happily. He couldn’t quite believe they were all back together. Both Hyungwon and Minhyuk had fallen asleep almost immediately after they got settled in the truck, even with the way the vehicle was swinging around corners and bumping over the dusty road. A few minutes passed in silence before the truck came skidding to a halt. The five conscious boys tensed in fear in anticipation, Hoseok reaching for his gun in case it was needed. The tarp pulled back and Heechul burst into view. All except Hyunwoo relaxed visibly as the man climbed in and Chanyeol followed him. 

“Hyunwoo, this is Heechul and Chanyeol.” Kihyun introduced them briefly before his attention turned to the cab as the passenger door opened and Hongsik climbed in. The door was barely shut before Kyungsoo peeled away again. The tubby man was thrown back against the seat and took a second to right himself before glancing around to check everyone was ok. 

“Holy shit, we actually did it!” He beamed at them. 

“I guess we did.” Hoseok grinned back, leaning into Hyungwon a little more and closing his eyes. They were headed back towards district 8 but they would need to ditch the truck soon. Any rest he could get would be a blessing. It was only going to get worse from here on out. 

After twenty minutes of questionable driving Kyungsoo bellowed to the nine in the back of the truck. 

“We’re gonna stop in a second and as soon as we do we gotta haul ass so wake everyone up.” He ordered. Hoseok nodded and shook Hyungwon awake while Changkyun did the same to Minhyuk. 

“Won, wake up. We gotta run, okay?” Hyungwon looked up at him in confusion. 

“Thank fucking god. I thought I was dreaming.” He grinned stupidly, obviously, the drugs were still having some effect on him. 

“Did you hear me? We gotta run Ok?” He said again a little firmer this time. Hyungwon nodded slowly. 

“Like when we stole the meds right?” He slurred, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Hoseok was about to respond but Kyungsoo slammed the brakes on and he settled for grabbing the taller boy to stop him from falling instead. Heechul dived out of the truck and raised his rifle, Chanyeol quickly following his lead. They kept a sharp eye out while the seven teenagers all jumped down and made a sprint for the tree line. Hongsik and Kyungsoo caught up with them. 

“This way, back to the warehouse.” Hongsik called out taking point. Despite his stature, the man was a fast runner and even Jooheon struggled to keep up with him and the other resistance fighters. Although they were running it still felt like an age before they reached the border. All of them crouched down rapidly and took a second to pull in some much-needed air. 

“Ok, I know this seems counterproductive but I think we should head as the crow flies until we hit the river, cross it and the loop back down towards the warehouse just in case.” Hoseok whispered. Both Hongsik and Heechul nodded in agreement, looking a little proud as they did. They followed Hoseok’s plan to the letter and finally made it to the familiar long grass and open skies. As far as they could tell they had lost any tailing soldiers a few miles before the border but once they were back at the warehouse Kyungsoo and Chanyeol insisted on staying outside the door in the long grass just in case. The others made their way inside. 

“No fire tonight boys. Just get some rest.” The resistance leader ordered. The seven weary teenagers nodded groggily in affirmation and practically collapsed to the ground. They near enough climbed into a pile as they got ready to sleep. Hyunwoo wrapped his arms around Kihyun who lay across his chest, while Minhyuk used the leader’s stomach as a pillow, Hoseok pulled Hyungwon close to his chest and pulled Changkyun in after that and Jooheon pressed himself tightly against the youngest, running a hand through his hair. For the first time in what felt like years sleep came easy. 

2017/03/22  
DISTRICT 8 (FORMERLY UIJEONGBU 의정부시)  
approx. 20km due north of Seoul 서울특별시  
DISTRICT STATUS: BLACK

The gun kicked back violently, the muscles in his shoulder screaming in protest. The metal of the grip dug into his palm. Every breath he took tripling his heart rate. The sound of the body hitting the ground was sickening, the dead weight thumping against the dusty floor. He stared at it watching the blood pool and soak into the dirt. Pale skin becoming paler. He scrunched his eyes shut, jumping back with a scream of shock as he opened them again. The pale skin was a now golden, brushed with a disturbing blueish hue. Deep brown eyes were unfeeling, dead. Hyunwoo’s body lay in the red pool beneath it. The feeling of nausea shook his whole body, his hands started to quiver. The rattle of the gun making him look down. He raised his hands in confusion and fear. The gun was gone. Instead was a blade, long and sharp. The metal glistened in the sunlight, even through the layer of blood that coated it. The blood that soaked his hands. It soaked his sleeves, the excess trickling to the floor. A strangled sob left his lips. The blade slipped through his loosening grip. He scrunched his eyes closed again. He didn’t want to see this anymore. He had to get away. He couldn’t deal with this. Suddenly the air changed and eyes opened to heavy darkness. 

The air ripped in and out of Kihyun’s lungs and caught in his throat. His hands shook violently, it was like he could still feel the hard metal of the grip pressing into his palm. The teenager clenched his fists tightly and tried to rid himself of the feeling. Closing his eyes all he could see was the man’s body crumple in front of him. He quickly stood, almost forgetting he’d tangled himself in with six other bodies, not caring who he jostled or woke. He stumbled blindly towards the subtle silhouette of the door and nearly tripped over the weeds that still wound treacherously around the bottom of the frame. The crisp, dustless air was like a wash over his clammy skin. He gulped in lungfuls of it and tried to will away the tremors that wracked his body. 

“You ok there, kid?” Kihyun gasped in shock and whipped around to find Heechul sat leaning against the wall of the old building. 

“What the fuck are you doing?” He hissed, his fear simmering down into a hot anger. The older chuckled and shook his head dramatically. 

“I’m keeping watch because it’s my job. In any case, I should be asking you that. You’re the one who’s supposed to be sleeping like a baby.” He smirked up at the younger. Kihyun didn’t know how to respond to that. He didn’t want to seem weak in front of someone who was very clearly a seasoned fighter but it must have been glaringly obvious what had happed, given the fact his hands were still shaking. 

“What time is it?” He decided to change the subject.

“Time you were still asleep.” Heechul grinned “seriously though, kid. You had a long day. It must have been pretty stressful I get it’s hard to sleep but you should at least try.” The long haired man sobered up a little, frowning up at Kihyun in concern. The teenager rolled his eyes. 

“I can sleep fine. I just came out to get some fresh air cos that musty ass room smells like a fucking morgue.” He bit out, turning his back and facing out to the clearing again. Heechul hummed in response and stayed quiet for a beat. 

“I see... well when I first joined the resistance I used to sleep fine too.” He paused to think. “I guess you get used to sleeping fine after a while, it doesn’t get easier but I think you just get too tired to care. That’s my favourite thing about taking the watch at night, it’s harder to sleep fine during the day.” Kihyun glanced over his shoulder and was surprised to find the Heechul wasn’t even looking at him and had instead joined him in glancing around the quiet clearing. 

“I don’t want anyone’s fucking help.” Kihyun retorted, trying to measure his voice but failing quite spectacularly. 

“I’m sure. But there will always be people that don’t care about that. Speaking of...” He said with a laugh. Kihyun frowned in confusion and turned in time to see Hyunwoo step through the doorway. “If you two are gonna be out here for a minute then I’m gonna go and hog the fire till you’re done. If anything happens hoot once like a barn owl and twice like a brown owl” he grinned widely and slid past the tanned boy, disappearing into the shadows of the warehouse. 

Hyunwoo had barely set foot out into the night air before Kihyun dove toward him and leant against his broad chest. The older chuckled and wrapped his strong arms around the smaller figure. 

“I’m sorry if I woke you” Kihyun whispered. Hyunwoo rubbed a strong hand soothingly up and down his back. 

“It’s ok, I was worried when you tore off like that but I didn’t want to crowd you.” He whispered back. 

“I’m ok. I’ll be fine.” The younger mumbled into the dirty fabric of Hyunwoo’s shirt. 

“I know you will. But I’m here so you don’t have to be.” Hyunwoo breathed into the messy brown hair. 

“Why does everyone think I’m some fucking mess?” Kihyun seethed, pulling back a little to frown at the leader. 

“Ki, I saw the bodies. I know for a fact Hoseok couldn’t have taken both of them down and I can’t for a second imagine you would have let Jooheon or Changkyun kill someone.” He frowned at the younger, tightening his grip around the thin waist. 

“So? It’s not the first time and I sure it won’t be last. I just need to get used to it and I’ll be fine.” Hyunwoo’s eyes widened with shock. His words caught in his throat as he pulled the younger into a tight embrace. “I’m fine. I’m really fine” Kihyun kept repeating, despite the tears that had some how found their way onto his face. 

“I missed you.” Was all Hyunwoo said as he let his best friend cry into his shoulder. They’d go back and sleep once Kihyun had calmed down. They still had plenty of time to rest before sunrise and god knows they’d need it if things kept on the way they were. 

Morning came and with it came explanations and retellings, from every angle. Hyungwon’s story was fairly short lived considering he spent most of his time high as a kite. Minhyuk’s was similar, if a little less foggy, and Hyunwoo’s seemed much the same. In no time it was up to Hoseok, Kihyun, Jooheon and Changkyun to explain their side of the story. After they’d got through the first day they left town things started to pick up, a lot of it they were able to gloss over since most of it was just walking. But eventually, they got to the story of the warehouse, which immediately caused a panic that Hongsik expertly diffused, and then finally their plan. Despite their careful treading, there was no way to avoid telling Minhyuk about his mother. They tried their best to break it to him gently but despite this, he was still livid. 

“You dragged my mom into this?” He bellowed angrily. “After everything, she’s done for you and you just throw her to the dogs?” 

“She came to me, Minhyuk. She heard about what had happened in District 8 and she wanted to help in any way she could.” Hongsik tried to appease the younger. “In any case, I’m sure she’s fine. I can’t imagine they’ll have any proof she was involved.” He put a reassuring hand on the blonde's shoulder that was immediately shaken off. 

“They didn’t need any proof to lock us up. What makes you think she’s any different?” He shouted accusingly, rounding on the older man. 

“Because” Hongsik raised his voice a little, not to be out done by the teenager. “She’s a grown woman with a very reputable job and a clear criminal record. She knew what she was doing and she did it for you. Now I understand that’s a hard pill to swallow but she is your mother and when you have children of your own you will understand that there is nothing that you won’t do to keep them safe and happy.” Minhyuk shook his head in anger and stormed away from the group, slipping out of the door and into the morning sun. Hongsik went to follow but Hyunwoo rested a hand in his leg, stilling him. 

“Just leave him to it. He’ll calm down a bit in a few minutes and spend the rest of the day sulking in a corner. I’m sure Eomma will be ok and he’ll realise that when he’s had time to think.” The leader said calmly. Hongsik gave him a warm, proud smile before urging the boys to continue retelling their tale. 

2017/03/24  
DISTRICT 8 (FORMERLY UIJEONGBU 의정부시)  
approx. 20km due north of Seoul 서울특별시  
DISTRICT STATUS: BLACK

“Ok, that’s great. Keep it steady, breathe slow and pull the trigger when you’re ready” Chanyeol grinned with excitement, stepping back to give Changkyun space to think. The younger followed his instructions carefully and paused for a moment before squeezing the trigger. The pistol kicked back but the teenager handled it well, trying his best to follow through and keep the gun trained. Bark shattered off the tree and filled the hot air with dust and debris. Chanyeol and Heechul whooped in support while Kyungsoo gave an enthusiastic round of applause. 

“Not bad, kid” Hongsik grinned at him from his spot leant against the side of the warehouse next to Hoseok. The 15-year-old blushed a little at all the praise and took aim once again, determined to get better at shooting. Hyunwoo, who had been sat in the shade of the nearby tree line, strode over to Hoseok and offered him a hand. 

“Spar with me?” He asked, eyes disappearing into the crescents of a warm smile. A smile which his younger friend returned with an enthusiastic nod. 

“Only if you’re prepared to get your ass handed to you, Leader” he teased arranging his feet into a better fighting stance. Hyunwoo simply scoffed and mirrored his friend's movements. The pair clashed together for nearly 10 minutes, neither one getting much of an upper hand. Every punch and kick thrown was blocked, every counter attack countered in return. Before long the pair were both wheezing for air. In the lull of the fight, the younger spotted his opening and swing his right leg around quickly, taking the older off his feet. He landed with a hefty thump and kicked up the dust around him. The 9 people watching all promptly burst into laughter as the leader tried to gather himself between fits of his own giggles. 

“I did warn you” Hoseok grinned down at him, offering a hand. Hyunwoo hopped to his feet and shook his head in exasperation. 

“Trust you to fight dirty.” 

“It’s not fighting dirty, it’s fighting realistically.” The younger retorted cheekily, retreating to the shade of the trees. He sat heavily next to Hyungwon and leaned against the younger. 

“Have you been practising?” He asked quietly, glancing up at the younger from his position against the bony shoulder. Hyungwon shook his head. 

“Ki-Hyung told me I should rest up just in case.” Hoseok noodled understandingly. 

“Maybe try and do a little bit so you don’t get out of practice.” He suggested. “Why don’t you go get me a flask of water from Hongsik?” He teased. The younger simply grinned before he disappeared, leaving a vortex of dust and air the Hoseok fell ungracefully into. He appeared less than a second later by the warehouse door on the other side of the clearing. Hongsik barely had a second to react before Hyungwon was right in front of him. The usually fearless man jumped out of his skin and started to laugh.

“Jesus, you don’t hang around, do you? A warning next time would be great.” He placed a hand over his racing heart and handed Hyungwon the flask of water he was reaching for. Hyungwon just nodded and gave a little wave before disappearing once again and appearing back in front of his Hyung a few moments later. 

“Yah!” Kihyun bellowed from across the clearing. “What did I fucking say about taking it easy?” He shook his head in frustration and turned back to his conversation with a somewhat awestruck Kyungsoo. 

The sun continued winding its way across the vast sky, the morning passed by with ease. All of the boys did their best to train and enjoy being back in each others company. Just after midday Hongsik left to attend some business, promising he’d be back within a few hours and taking Chanyeol with him for backup. Minhyuk did his best to pry any information from him but the man wouldn’t crack and simply ruffled the blonde’s messy hair with a chuckle before strolling off. Heechul and Kyungsoo did their best to train Changkyun, Jooheon and Hyungwon to shoot while Hoseok helped Minhyuk and Hyunwoo to work of their knife skills. Kihyun simply flitted between the groups, refusing to actually touch either weapon but intently listening to the lessons being taught. Hoseok didn’t miss the slight tremor in his hands as he watched Minhyuk and Hyunwoo spar but he decided against mentioning it. He was a man that lived by the philosophy that things would find the way to the light on their own. Until that happened he’d just have to keep a close eye on the younger and protect him as best he could. When the time came Kihyun made himself busy by building a small fire and collecting some ration packs for everyone. They crowded around the flames and chattered about the day, laughing at the little mishaps and mistakes. Jooheon took a lot of the brunt for his ‘small’ mishap at around lunchtime. Despite his insistence that Changkyun had thrown him off on purpose no one would let him get away with missing his mark by 3 foot. 

“I’m still really proud of all of you.” Hoseok grinned around at the other boys. “I know none of you are really fighters but you’ve all come so far.” He blushed a little as he finished his speech, staring at the ground shyly. Hyunwoo chuckled warmly. 

“Yeah, you guys have done a really good job today. Make sure you get plenty of rest tonight and Kyungsoo, Heechul-Hyung, thank you for helping us. I know we’re not the best students...” he trailed off, looking poignantly at Jooheon, before quickly continuing to talk over the laughter. “You’ve taught us all really well and I’m grateful beyond words for everything you’ve done for us.” Heechul simply chuckled, acting humbly for once, while Kyungsoo waved them off. He opened his mouth to speak but was cut off before he could get the first syllable out as Hongsik and a Chanyeol came barrelling into the clearing. The younger bent double, gasping for breath, while his leader gasped out. 

“Put the fire out and grab you shit. We need to move right fucking now. They’re coming for us.”


	6. AUTHOR'S NOTE

Hi guys, 

I hate author's notes but I felt that I needed to say something. I started this story with the intention of finishing it and that will happen but it's taking longer than I thought. I'm working on the next chapter as we speak but things are getting pretty complicated (narrative-wise). 

Once I've finished this chapter, which will take at least a few more days, I won't be posting anything more until it's done. 

This coming chapter will conclude the first of 3 parts to this story. As the 2nd and 3rd parts are going to be even more complex and will be delving into to some physics stuff I want to take my time with them and make sure they're all perfect with no plot holes or discrepancies. Because of this, I'm going to hold off on posting them until I'm 100% happy. 

I'm so grateful for the support that I've received for this monolith of a story and for my other works, it really does mean the world to me. I have a few more pieces in the works to keep you all going while you wait (If you like my writing). 

Come say hi on Twitter if you'd like! @tr0pical__night 

and check out the Part I trailer I posted there yesterday~ https://twitter.com/tr0pical__night/status/1087087514324779010

I love y'all tons~ 

PS: I'll be deleting this once I upload the next chapter and adding another A/N after that to let everyone know how things are going, hopefully by then I'll have put together the trailer for Part II and maybe Part III


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